Editing 1701: Speed and Danger
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Very early explanation. Please elaborate further.}} | ||
− | In this {{w|scatter plot}} [[Randall]] | + | In this {{w|scatter plot}} [[Randall]] makes the observation that the danger of a crash is greatly influenced by its speed and highlights the concept of {{w|relativity}} between what we perceive as 'fast', normal sports and two different types of racing cars, vs. a much faster vehicle, a rocket during launch. A rocket may appear to ascend slowly (and of course it begins its ascent slowly), but on the way to orbit it ends up moving very fast. But before it reaches the more extreme speed regime it will be far away from the ground (and the casual observer), where there is nothing to compare this speed to as opposed to a race car speeding by a spectator during a race. (Of course rockets are slow compared to the speed of light...) |
− | + | Apart from the high speed, there is also the altitude to take into account for the rocket launch, and the vast amount of fuel needed to get into orbit, and any sort of failure is almost certainly fatal. | |
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− | Apart from the high speed, there is also the altitude to take into account for | ||
Racing cars are often involved in crashes, but at that speed it is possible to construct them so even serious crashes may not be fatal. Although rockets are also made as safe as possible, it is a completely different regime of ''speed and danger'', and the risk of something going wrong during a take off is much higher, and it is impossible to prevent a lethal disaster if the launch fails during the ascent. This results in a much higher mortality rate for each crashed rocket (probably 100%) vs. crashed sports/race cars. | Racing cars are often involved in crashes, but at that speed it is possible to construct them so even serious crashes may not be fatal. Although rockets are also made as safe as possible, it is a completely different regime of ''speed and danger'', and the risk of something going wrong during a take off is much higher, and it is impossible to prevent a lethal disaster if the launch fails during the ascent. This results in a much higher mortality rate for each crashed rocket (probably 100%) vs. crashed sports/race cars. | ||
− | + | The rockets launch is compared to normal {{w|sports}}, {{w|NASCAR}} - reaching speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) - and {{w|Formula One}} - the fastest race cars going 380 km/h (240 mph). | |
− | A | + | A rockets launched to reach the {{w|ISS}} needs to eventually match the speed of the space station which moves at 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph), and a rocket that needs to {{w|Escape velocity|escape}} from Earth (like in going to the Mars) needs to reach 40,270 km/h (25,020 mph). The lowest of these speeds divided by the highest of the cars is still more then 70 times as fast... |
− | The title text serves to emphasize the point | + | The title text serves to further emphasize the point, as an astronaut (used to the several G's of acceleration during takeoff and overall much higher speeds) would likely find a NASCAR car moving at ~200mph paltry compared to what they're acclimated to and has supposedly aggravated NASCAR drivers by making a point of saying so. And thus this is used to explain why there is no passenger seats in NASCARS, to prevent astronauts in joining the drivers for a nice slow ride. |
− | Of the many [[:Category:Charts|charts in xkcd]] this one is notable for containing the fewest | + | Of the many [[:Category:Charts|charts in xkcd]] this one is notable for containing the fewest samples of point of any [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]] in xkcd. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Scatter plots]] | [[Category:Scatter plots]] | ||
[[Category:Sport]] | [[Category:Sport]] | ||
[[Category:Space]] | [[Category:Space]] |