this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
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xkcd #3106: Farads (imgs.xkcd.com)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

xkcd #3106: Farads

Title text:

'This HAZMAT container contains radioactive material with activity of one becquerel.' 'So, like, a single banana slice?'

Transcript:

[Cueball holds a stick while talking with Megan and White Hat.]
Cueball: This stick is one meter long.
Megan: Cool.
White Hat: That's a nice stick.

[Cueball holds a smallish rock.]
Cueball: This rock weighs one pound.
Megan: I'd believe it.
White Hat: Looks like a normal rock.

[Cueball holds a small battery.]
Cueball: This battery is one volt.
Megan: Seems fine.
White Hat: Might need a recharge.

[Cueball holds a capacitor while Megan and White Hat panic.]
Cueball: This capacitor is one farad.
Megan: Aaaaa! Be careful!!
White Hat: Put it down!!

Source: https://xkcd.com/3106/

explainxkcd for #3106

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (21 children)

Wait so this is like one mistake away from turning that stickman into a fried stickman?

[–] ricecake 39 points 6 days ago (20 children)

Depends on the voltage it's charged with, but household current would give it more energy than a shotgun has.

Realistically one would not do that unless you were dealing with something industrial. You would use them otherwise for things like dampening lower voltage systems that need a lot of current.

Closer to the danger level of someone holding two exposed wires plugged into the wall.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Would that not leak a ton to the environment? Parasitic capacitance or smth. I ain't not voltager.

[–] ricecake 6 points 6 days ago

If we're getting into practical realities it would probably pop and smolder long before it got fully charged. Capacitance is how much charge something will hold per volt. Doesn't say anything about how much charge it holds before catching on fire. :)

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