3214: Electric Vehicles

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 03:47, 3 March 2026 by 2607:fb91:880e:9464:ac39:d1f1:4e4a:84e5 (talk) (Transcript: cats)
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Electric Vehicles
Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.
Title text: Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.

Explanation

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This page was created by an EV WITH A NONRECHARGBLE BOT-TERY. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

Transcript

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[Cueball is standing on the left, and Megan and White Hat are standing on the tight. Cueball is speaking.]
Cueball: I would never get an electric vehicle.
Cueball: Sure, they sound great, but what do you do if the battery runs out of charge?
[Caption below the image:]
I felt pretty silly when someone finally explained to me that EVs are rechargeable.



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Discussion

How's the transcript, guys? --Utdtutyabthsc (talk) 03:41, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Heck if i know 216.25.182.141 03:46, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

idk man, most cars I've encountered sound pretty acoustic to me. EVs are quieter though since they lack combustion engines 137.25.230.78 04:00, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Just added a real life cars-as-instruments section, and to prove I'm human I must select photos with cars. It didn't tell me if I should pick the acoustic ones though, I'm confused. 78.244.70.135 08:11, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Didn't it give you the option to use an audio version of the captcha? 82.13.184.33 09:37, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

You know, it is possible to run out of charge while you're driving. Then you have to figure out how to move your car or recharge it when there aren't any sources of electricity handy or convenient. Dogman15 (talk) 09:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

That's hardly a unique problem, though - the same is also true of gas-powered cars (or any other fuel you care to mention, for that matter). 82.13.184.33 10:08, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
As and when I might transition to EV, I've been thinking of getting a handy sized PV panel (or, better, a 'roll' of PV fabric, which can be pegged out; perhaps even used as a windbreak/sunshade) stowed in a corner of the boot(/trunk), that I can take out and use to trickle-charge the vehicle when needed. Although that's more for like just making a bit of use of the sunshine if I'm stopped anywhere for long enough, to reduce my reliance upon commercial power sources. 81.179.199.253 14:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

When i was in school one teacher was keen on distinguishing batteries from accumulators. a battery was something you use once, an accumulator could be recharged. this was in a non-english speaking country and i am not sure if this strict distinction exists in english. but it could cause such a misunderstanding.--2001:62A:4:408:2541:D6E7:7A86:B8DC 10:25, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Until I read the whole paragraph I was thinking accumulator would be the same as a capacitor. Maybe they thought rechargeables are actually giant capacitors, but they aren't. They store energy in a (mostly) reversible chemical reaction (tons of energy, slow to charge-discharge (unless spicy pillow releases magic smoke and fire)). Capacitors hold charge physically along the surfaces of the plates (fast charge-discharge, (relatively) tiny capacity). Totally different storage method. 130.76.187.47 13:34, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
Of course, the usual (and, by now, entirely moot) confusion is between "battery" and a "cell". It should only really be a "battery" if there's more than one "cell" in series (or maybe in parallel, but I'm sure that can be argued about) within the full item that you're naming as such. And rechargable batteries/cells have been so long a thing (are "electrical accumulators", as opposed to non-electrical equivalent ones for other forms of energy storage and release, like pressure-/gravity-tanks, flywheels, etc), although lead-acid batteries (yes, they're internally cells in series!) was often identified as an "accumulator" to contrast with the (single-use) solid-state chemical cell/battery. 81.179.199.253 14:39, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I think acoustic propulsion is a thing, but it doesn't work for human-scale cars. One, the sound generator is external and two, it's usually small things. 2603:8081:9700:E9D:0:0:0:2 14:25, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Isn't an explosion technically sound? As gas-fueled cars are powered by exploding the gas, they really are accoustic cars.(talk) 16:36, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

The sound is a side-effect - not the means of propulsion. 82.13.184.33 16:54, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm not convinced the penny farthing line is relevant - the preceding discussion, in reference to the title text, is about misapplying distinctions from one field to another inappropriate one where they aren't relevant. The 'safety' epithet was applied because the new bicycles were considered safer - whether or not that was correct, it was entirely relevant to the distinction being made. 82.13.184.33 16:54, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I also was doubtful, but I only corrected it regarding the "penny farthing" name misconception (they weren't really called that, at the time...). Probably can be removed, unless someone wants to say more about them being the "ordinary" bicycles of their day (hence also "old ordinary" as an epithet ...once they were sufficiently no longer 'new', of course). 82.132.239.30 18:31, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure, if it fit's in the explanation, but Oneway Vipes are a thing: You buy them with pretty good 18650 batteries and throw them away, if the battery is empty. 2001:9e8:9690:bf00:a8bb:ca4c:64a1:1e5c (talk) 18:13, 3 March 2026 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

What's that? Some form of Segway? (Couldn't find anything out there by that name, or even "Oneway Bikes". And do remember to sign...) 82.132.239.30 18:31, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Isn't this a parody of those people who use "what will you do when it runs out of battery" as an argument against EVs, like that doesn't also apply to regular cars? --Mushrooms (talk) 19:15, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Well, if that ever happens to me, I fully intend to siphen some electricity from the nearest unattended EV... Electrons are very small, and should be easier to suck into a pipe than that nasty hydrocarbon fuel is... 81.179.199.253 19:22, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
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