Difference between revisions of "Talk:2564: Sunshield"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 11: Line 11:
 
::The point of the title text is that if the flash really were bright enough to serve its purpose, it ''would'' scar the surface of Mars (when Mars happens to be in that general direction).
 
::The point of the title text is that if the flash really were bright enough to serve its purpose, it ''would'' scar the surface of Mars (when Mars happens to be in that general direction).
 
Also, the JWST is drawn here to resemble the old Polaroid Land SX-70 Instant Camera (of just about 50 years ago.)  Hmmmm.  "Instant" raises issues of relativistic simultaeity....
 
Also, the JWST is drawn here to resemble the old Polaroid Land SX-70 Instant Camera (of just about 50 years ago.)  Hmmmm.  "Instant" raises issues of relativistic simultaeity....
 +
:Worse than that, shutter-click and ''then'' a flash (at least a frame of time apart) isn't that useful.
 +
:Trigger the flash and ''then'' the shutter around the time the flash returns. Depending upon distance and depth-of-field involved (also the duration of the flash and the movement of the subjects) you might have a longer shutter-open taking in passive light but mostly registering the 'bounce-back' from any given distance as the overwhelming flash gets there and back.
 +
:(See various planetary nebulae photos where 'shells' of illumination, from subsequent flareups in the active centre, make it look like there's shells of matter, when it's more that these are volumes of debris that were in the right place at the right time to give us the current reflected glory. It makes for interesting mind-experiments.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 18:39, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

Revision as of 18:39, 5 January 2022


i thought this is common knowledge. 162.158.90.173 15:00, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

It's normally supposed to block sunlight from reaching the telescope. This comic turns this on its head by suggesting the telescope emits light instead of collecting it. The emitted light is claimed to outshine the sun. The title text means that the flash is bright enough to scar the surface of Mars, which is unlikely. 172.68.154.143 15:12, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

According to wikipedia it is about preventing heat from reaching the telescope and only secondary about the light. --172.68.110.139 15:16, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
The comic mentions the role of blocking light which is why I mentioned it's light-blocking property.172.68.154.141 15:34, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
Obviously, the comic distorts the facts to make it funny. --172.68.110.121 15:33, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
The point of the title text is that if the flash really were bright enough to serve its purpose, it would scar the surface of Mars (when Mars happens to be in that general direction).

Also, the JWST is drawn here to resemble the old Polaroid Land SX-70 Instant Camera (of just about 50 years ago.) Hmmmm. "Instant" raises issues of relativistic simultaeity....

Worse than that, shutter-click and then a flash (at least a frame of time apart) isn't that useful.
Trigger the flash and then the shutter around the time the flash returns. Depending upon distance and depth-of-field involved (also the duration of the flash and the movement of the subjects) you might have a longer shutter-open taking in passive light but mostly registering the 'bounce-back' from any given distance as the overwhelming flash gets there and back.
(See various planetary nebulae photos where 'shells' of illumination, from subsequent flareups in the active centre, make it look like there's shells of matter, when it's more that these are volumes of debris that were in the right place at the right time to give us the current reflected glory. It makes for interesting mind-experiments.) 172.70.85.73 18:39, 5 January 2022 (UTC)