3208: SNEWS - Revision history

BunsenH: death is not sleep

2026-04-03T17:44:49Z

death is not sleep

2601:246:5100:4120:95B9:2D4F:6C12:475F at 14:28, 3 April 2026

2026-04-03T14:28:59Z

42.book.addict: we don't add title texts into transcripts. read explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for more info

2026-03-11T18:15:26Z

we don't add title texts into transcripts. read explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for more info

Commercialegg: /* Transcript */ added title text

2026-03-11T17:24:14Z

‎Transcript: added title text

82.132.231.180: Undo revision 407924 by 216.125.50.226 (talk) Awkward removal of (arguably removable) tag. Restoring so it isn't broken... Maybe so the prior editor can understand and try again better.

2026-03-10T17:24:44Z

Undo revision 407924 by 216.125.50.226 (talk) Awkward removal of (arguably removable) tag. Restoring so it isn't broken... Maybe so the prior editor can understand and try again better.

216.125.50.226 at 16:55, 10 March 2026

2026-03-10T16:55:03Z

2601:1C0:8080:3C70:10F8:D748:A1E9:ECB3: /* Explanation */

2026-02-27T03:43:10Z

‎Explanation

2601:1C0:8080:3C70:98F2:6A13:8CD4:F8E1: /* Explanation */

2026-02-26T05:27:30Z

‎Explanation

BunsenH: The assumption that every firework rocket contains [x] mass of gunpowder is false. Rockets vary widely in the amount of propellant, from tiny "consumer" fireworks to large-scale "professional" rockets.

2026-02-23T16:00:32Z

The assumption that every firework rocket contains [x] mass of gunpowder is false. Rockets vary widely in the amount of propellant, from tiny "consumer" fireworks to large-scale "professional" rockets.

82.132.236.115: /* Explanation */ Is or isn't lethal/destructive, at the end of the day. Sliding scales of countable lethality/destructiveness aside (...kill two people, or just one, etc), it's better to look at partial probabilities, not partial events.

2026-02-23T15:37:21Z

‎Explanation: Is or isn't lethal/destructive, at the end of the day. Sliding scales of countable lethality/destructiveness aside (...kill two people, or just one, etc), it's better to look at partial probabilities, not partial events.

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Ponytail is being {{w|hyperbole|hyperbolic}}, because even if all astronomers were interested in supernovae, not every individual or observatory will be immediately situated to view a particular point in the sky. For example, they may need to wait for the Earth's rotation, causing the phenomenon to "rise" in the east. Others may be located at unfavorable latitudes where the object will never appear above the Earth's horizon. It may also take some time before the supernova reaches an apparent magnitude that is visible during the daytime. Which would be particularly disappointing for ''everyone'' with an interest (on Earth) if it all happens to a star currently too close to conjunction with the Sun to see, in spite of the advanced neutrino warning.
-Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or death.
+Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or under medical sedation (which might be considered "sleeping").
 The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy content of approximately 3.3 grams of pyrotechnic gunpowder (for instance, a string of sixty or so 50-mg firecrackers).

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
 [[Ponytail]] is 'showing [[Hairy]] her bedroom'. Hairy asks about the large device on the ceiling, and Ponytail explains that it is part of the {{w|SNEWS}} (SuperNova Early Warning System). This provides advance notice of {{w|supernova}}e by detecting {{w|neutrino}}s (tiny particles that travel near the speed of light, rarely interacting with matter). Neutrinos are produced in large quantities during the collapse of the star core, which occurs hours before the brightness of the star surface starts to increase (drastically). Neutrinos from a supernova can be distinguished from those generated by the Sun: the latter are relatively steady in their flux (10<sup>10</sup>–10<sup>11</sup>&#8239;cm<sup>-2</sup>s<sup>-1</sup>) with energies < 20&#8239;MeV, while the former come in a much higher flux for a few seconds and have energies of 10–50&#8239;MeV. She explains this gives {{w|astronomer}}s warning, allowing them to observe the event with telescopes and other instruments.
@@ Line 19: / Line 18: @@
 Ponytail is being {{w|hyperbole|hyperbolic}}, because even if all astronomers were interested in supernovae, not every individual or observatory will be immediately situated to view a particular point in the sky. For example, they may need to wait for the Earth's rotation, causing the phenomenon to "rise" in the east. Others may be located at unfavorable latitudes where the object will never appear above the Earth's horizon. It may also take some time before the supernova reaches an apparent magnitude that is visible during the daytime. Which would be particularly disappointing for ''everyone'' with an interest (on Earth) if it all happens to a star currently too close to conjunction with the Sun to see, in spite of the advanced neutrino warning.
-Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or under medical sedation.
+Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or death.
 The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy content of approximately 3.3 grams of pyrotechnic gunpowder (for instance, a string of sixty or so 50-mg firecrackers).

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 :Ponytail: I '''''refuse''''' to sleep through a supernova.
 :Hairy: I think I'll spend the night at my place instead.
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 :Ponytail: I '''''refuse''''' to sleep through a supernova.
 :Hairy: I think I'll spend the night at my place instead.
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{This page was created by a Type Ia firework display that Ponytail set off.}}
+{{incomplete|This page was created by a Type Ia firework display that Ponytail set off. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
 [[Ponytail]] is 'showing [[Hairy]] her bedroom'. Hairy asks about the large device on the ceiling, and Ponytail explains that it is part of the {{w|SNEWS}} (SuperNova Early Warning System). This provides advance notice of {{w|supernova}}e by detecting {{w|neutrino}}s (tiny particles that travel near the speed of light, rarely interacting with matter). Neutrinos are produced in large quantities during the collapse of the star core, which occurs hours before the brightness of the star surface starts to increase (drastically). Neutrinos from a supernova can be distinguished from those generated by the Sun: the latter are relatively steady in their flux (10<sup>10</sup>–10<sup>11</sup>&#8239;cm<sup>-2</sup>s<sup>-1</sup>) with energies < 20&#8239;MeV, while the former come in a much higher flux for a few seconds and have energies of 10–50&#8239;MeV. She explains this gives {{w|astronomer}}s warning, allowing them to observe the event with telescopes and other instruments.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or under medical sedation.
-The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy released by the complete combustion of about 0.6&#8239;g of table sugar (sucrose), or the decomposition of 5.3–9.1&#8239;g of nitrocellulose, or the decomposition of ~3.3 grams of gunpowder (for instance, a string of sixty-five 50-mg firecrackers).
+The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy content of approximately 3.3 grams of pyrotechnic gunpowder (for instance, a string of sixty or so 50-mg firecrackers).
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Since historical supernovae have been visible from 6 months to nearly 2 years, it would be unlikely that Ponytail sleeps through a new one in its entirety, although there would still be significant cachet for any astronomer lucky enough to be able to legitimately say that they had seen the 'first light' at the earliest opportunity. It would have been difficult for her to ''not'' sleep through part of the supernova, for the same reason if she had not set up the fireworks; ironically, she has made that a more likely possibility, because injuries from the fireworks may leave her in a coma or persistent vegetative state.
-The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy released by the complete combustion of about 0.6&#8239;g of table sugar (sucrose), or the decomposition of 5.3–9.1&#8239;g of nitrocellulose. A single firework rocket contains about 10 g of gunpowder which release 27 kJ during the launch. As Ponytail's "alarm clock" releases less energy than even a single rocket it appears that she built it with less powerful firecrackers. While it is still a bad idea to set those off inside a house the result will be much less likely to be lethal and destructive.
+The title text is a play on the tremendous amount of energy released by a supernova. The {{w|Foe (unit)|foe}} is an unofficial unit of energy equal to 10^44&#8239;Joule (but named directly from initials in the original quantity of "ten to the <u>f</u>ifty-<u>o</u>ne <u>e</u>rgs", involving a {{w|Erg|pre-SI}} measurement of energy), which is approximately on the order of the usual amount of energy released by a supernova. In comparison, human-scale amounts of energy — even relatively significant ones such as firework detonations — are negligible. This ignores the fact that energy releases that are "negligible in comparison to a supernova" can still be easily fatal to humans; even the largest man-made nuclear explosion is approximately ''twenty-seven'' orders of magnitude less than the baseline 'foe' value. The described "10<sup>-40</sup>&#8239;foe" is equal to 10&#8239;kJ, the energy released by the complete combustion of about 0.6&#8239;g of table sugar (sucrose), or the decomposition of 5.3–9.1&#8239;g of nitrocellulose.
 ==Transcript==