Editing 1204: Detail
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| titletext = 2031: Google defends the swiveling roof-mounted scanning electron microscopes on its Street View cars, saying they 'don't reveal anything that couldn't be seen by any pedestrian scanning your house with an electron microscope.' | | titletext = 2031: Google defends the swiveling roof-mounted scanning electron microscopes on its Street View cars, saying they 'don't reveal anything that couldn't be seen by any pedestrian scanning your house with an electron microscope.' | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | {{w|Google Earth}} is a mapping software service provided by | + | {{w|Google Earth}} is a mapping software service provided by Google that allows people to view the Earth from above. If you zoom in to maximum magnification, you can obtain clear views of individual streets and homes. |
− | + | {{w|Optical resolution|Resolution}} is a term meaning the smallest length detectable in an image. In this context, this corresponds to the real-life size of a single pixel in a aerial image. [[Randall]] points out that the level of detail in images used in Google Earth has been improved exponentially since its introduction. This occurs as aerial imaging technology improves and better ways of collecting the data are found. Each tick in the scale represents a resolution improvement by 1000 times. | |
− | + | The {{w|Planck length}} is considered to be the smallest meaningful length in {{w|quantum mechanics}}. In the graph, it is used to denote the actual "resolution" of the universe, as indicated by the horizontal line labeled "Earth". It is defined as approximately 1.6×10<sup>−35</sup> meters, or around 10<sup>20</sup> times smaller than the diameter of a proton. | |
− | + | An extrapolation of the trend of increasing resolution of Google Earth implies that it could reveal details at levels approaching the Planck length at or around the year 2120. Obviously this idea is fanciful to an extraordinary degree. Even in the laboratory, the Planck length cannot be directly observed by any current or likely future instruments; it is a theoretical construct only. Current microscopes are not even able to resolve at the level of the atom. | |
− | + | Like [[605: Extrapolating]], this comic deals with unwarranted extrapolation (see also [[1007: Sustainable]] and [[1281: Minifigs]]). | |
− | The title text refers to | + | The title text refers to the fact that the trendline predicts an available resolution in the nanometer range by 2031, which Randall implies would be possible (using today's technology) only with the use of {{w|scanning electron microscope}}s. (In reality, current scanning electron microscopes are lab equipment used with small specimens at very close range, and not suitable for observing something as large as a house or for observations from a passing car.) It also refers to some heat that Google received before about its vehicle-mounted {{w|Google Street View|Street View}} cameras being an invasion of privacy. Google responded by saying that its cameras see nothing more than could be seen by a pedestrian walking by. Or, put another way, Street View gives the power to anybody in the world to virtually stand outside your home. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :My | + | :My Neghborhood's Resolution in: |
− | :[A | + | :[A chart showing the Resolution of Google Earth increasing on a logarithmic scale towards the Planck Length, with resolution on the y-axis and time in years on the x-axis.] |
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Extrapolation]] | [[Category:Extrapolation]] | ||
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