Difference between revisions of "explain xkcd:Sandbox"
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| − | + | __NOTOC__{{DISPLAYTITLE:explain xkcd}} | |
| − | + | <center> | |
| − | < | + | <font size=5px>''Welcome to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' wiki!''</font><br> |
| − | ------ | + | <span style="font size:210%;">We have an explanation for all [[List of all comics (full)|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}}}''' xkcd comics]], and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} ({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 1}}%) are incomplete. [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Help us finish them!]]</span><!-- Note: the -1 in the calculation above has been removed (it was there to discount "comic" 404, but we've categorized it to be a comic and so has Randall.) --> |
| − | [[ | + | </center> |
| + | <!-- Go to this explanation button --><span style="position: absolute; right:0; padding-top:1.4em; font-size: 100%;"><span class="no-link-underline">[[{{LATESTCOMIC}}| </span>'''Go to this explanation''']]</span> | ||
| − | < | + | =Latest comic= |
| + | <div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#f6f6f6; padding:1.5em;"> | ||
| + | {{:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}} | ||
| + | ---- | ||
| − | + | <span style="position: absolute; left:0; padding-top:1.35em; font-size: 105%;"><span class="no-link-underline"> [[File:new topic.png|21x21px|link={{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion]][[{{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion| </span>'''View comic discussion''']]</span><br><br></div> | |
| + | |||
| + | == New here? == | ||
| + | <div style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em">{{Special:ContributionScores/10/30/nosort,notools}}<div style="font-size:0.85em; width:28em; font-style:italic">[[Special:ContributionScores|Lots of people]] contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors above have [{{fullurl:Special:Contributions|contribs=newbie}} just joined]. You can do it too! Create your account [[Special:UserLogin/signup|here]].</div></div> | ||
| + | |||
| + | You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at [[explain xkcd]]. Feel free to [[Special:UserLogin/signup|create an account]] and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|comics]], [[:Category:Characters|characters]], [[What If? chapters|''What If?'' articles]], and [[:Category:xkcd|everything in between]]. If it is referenced in an [[xkcd]] comic, it should be here. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * If you're new to wiki editing, see the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ]] for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on [[mw:Help:Editing pages|how to edit wiki pages]]. There's also a handy {{w|Help:Cheatsheet|wikicode cheatsheet}}. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the [[explain xkcd:Community portal|Community portal]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * You can browse the comics from the [[List of all comics (full)|list of all comics]] or by navigating the category tree at [[:Category:Comics]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * The incomplete explanations are listed [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|here]]. Feel free to help out by expanding them! | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Rules == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Don't be a jerk! | ||
| + | |||
| + | There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If you need assistance from an [[explain xkcd:Administrators|admin]], post a message to the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] board. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Root category]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | Recent comments: {{Special:RecentChanges|namespace=1}} | ||
Latest revision as of 06:19, 3 January 2026
Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3198 xkcd comics, and only 63 (2%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!
Latest comic[edit]
| Conic Sections |
 Title text: They're not generally used for crewed spacecraft because astronauts HATE going around the corners. |
Explanation[edit]
|
This is incomplete: This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
A Kepler orbit describes the simplified motion of two celestial objects around each other based only on their gravitational forces, ignoring any other factors such as gravity of other objects, atmospheric drag, and non-spherical bodies. Such an orbit will form a conic section. Conic sections are curves formed by the intersection of a plane and a cone. This results in four possible curves: a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola, depending on the angle of the plane relative to the cone's axis.
In real conic sections, the cone extends to infinity. In the comic, however, the "conic section" representing the satellite's orbit has a base, resulting in sharp corners where the base and the lateral surface meet. As alluded to in the title text, these corners would be extremely uncomfortable for an astronaut in a crewed spacecraft such an extreme and sudden change in direction would require a very large, potentially dangerous G-force.
Transcript[edit]
|
This is one of 35 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
- [A view of the Earth, focused on Asia and the Indian Ocean with East Africa at left and the Western Pacific and Australia at right. A satellite is shown in an unusual orbit around the planet.]
- [Caption below the panel:]
- All Keplerian orbits are conic sections. For example, this one uses the base of the cone.
Add comment 
Create topic (use sparingly) 
Refresh Discussion
Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.
This is a test. PoolloverNathan[stalk the blue seas] 20:48, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
- This is not. —While False (museum | talk | contributions | logs | rights | printable version | page information | what links there | related changes | Google search | current time: 06:50) 18:38, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
- A foreign student asked me to help fight against his math teacher. That was unusual. He was in that class for just a couple of weeks. The teacher's phone number was sent to me. The student asked me to spam-call the teacher. 172.71.155.55 22:58, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
here i'm just messing around in html, ignore this
furhhfghure guyrburgryhuyvfr "rvhru"
interesting way of writing quotations xd
- hmmm this one of putting "<p>" in a line break will come in handy for when i want it to start at the same place than the first line
edit: da hek did that "</div>" come from An user who has no account yet (talk) 14:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)
hi uh its hard to get here.
is this a reference to undocumented feature??? hmm... this is interesting.
108.162.241.216 02:05, 23 November 2023 (UTC)
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yum yum [citation needed]
Hiuiedeixgeyceiyedhcdiedcve {{trout}}
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Add comment View comic discussionNew here?[edit]
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You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.
- If you're new to wiki editing, see the explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on how to edit wiki pages. There's also a handy wikicode cheatsheet.
- Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the Community portal.
- You can browse the comics from the list of all comics or by navigating the category tree at Category:Comics.
- The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
Rules[edit]
Don't be a jerk!
There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.
Recent comments:3 January 2026
| 06:40 | Talk:3180: Apples (diff | hist) . . (+184) . . 73.222.207.213 (talk) |
| m 06:26 | Talk:188: Reload (diff | hist) . . (+168) . . 物灵 (talk | contribs) |
| m 05:41 | Talk:1361: Google Announcement (diff | hist) . . (+202) . . 物灵 (talk | contribs) |
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Talk:3189: Conic Sections (8 changes | history) . . (+1,728) . . [Tanner07; TheusafBOT; SDSpivey; PRR; 92.23.2.208; 71.212.56.254; Lordpishky (2×)] |
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(cur | prev) . . (+158) . . Lordpishky (talk | contribs) (Ice cream) |
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(cur | prev) . . (+113) . . TheusafBOT (talk | contribs) (Created by theusafBOT: talk page for 3189) |
2 January 2026
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Talk:298: Tesla Coil (2 changes | history) . . (+262) . . [92.23.2.208; 2607:f2c0:f200:1904:2590:f41d:692e:1b3] |
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(cur | prev) . . (0) . . 92.23.2.208 (talk) (Correcting the indent intent.) |
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Talk:3167: Car Size (2 changes | history) . . (+875) . . [User 8496351; 92.23.2.208] |
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Talk:3188: Anyone Else Here (3 changes | history) . . (+688) . . [Lordpishky; Kynde; 2001:4c4e:1c04:b100:3cef:f3e7:2a28:816b] |
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(cur | prev) . . (+245) . . Lordpishky (talk | contribs) (Hebew, Islamic, Buddhist & eternal years.) |
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(cur | prev) . . (+444) . . Kynde (talk | contribs) (→Time travel) |
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(cur | prev) . . (-1) . . 2001:4c4e:1c04:b100:3cef:f3e7:2a28:816b (talk) (chronological order of 3rd level responses) |
| 16:39 | Talk:188: Reload (diff | hist) . . (+138) . . Jarochar (talk | contribs) |
| 14:33 | Talk:460: Paleontology (diff | hist) . . (+182) . . 129.137.96.14 (talk) (Bearcats RULE!) |
| 04:23 | Talk:2287: Pathogen Resistance (diff | hist) . . (+194) . . Qwertyuiopfromdefly (talk | contribs) (commented) |
1 January 2026
| 16:30 | Talk:2810: How to Coil a Cable (diff | hist) . . (+180) . . PDesbeginner (talk | contribs) |
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Talk:3187: High Altitude Cooking Instructions (3 changes | history) . . (+387) . . [BunsenH; 82.132.237.45; 2401:d002:a203:dc00:a280:52cf:a02a:a5cc] |
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(cur | prev) . . (+191) . . BunsenH (talk | contribs) (video example) |
| m 02:44 | Talk:3184: Funny Numbers (diff | hist) . . (+5) . . Lordpishky (talk | contribs) (Changes "Actual popular number" to "more common" least it appear I'm dissing someone else's numbers.) |
