No, but the cow carrying the needle is definitely spherical.
3 Likes
This topic has been covered by a much more reputable YouTube science channel.
4 Likes
Came here to post the same. It’s possibly my favorite XKCD “What, If?” answer. Start with that as the jumping off point and extrapolate from there.
2 Likes
Well, Mark is certainly no physicist. He’s posted that debunked “dino puke can kill things” graphic multiple times. That’s the one showing supposed “physics” calculations, but where kinetic energy and force are assumed to be the same thing to arrive at the conclusion.
1 Like
I feel confident that Jupiter would duck.
12 Likes
Man, that’s how all these “who would win” discussions end up. 
13 Likes
“quite likely to happen?” I assume this is sarcasm since it is physically impossible.
Even though a needle has a tiny cross-section, there’s a lot of mass for it to encounter in Jupiter (including a very dense core) in that small cross-section and relativistic beaming isn’t a factor in that. Since the needle will easily encounter much more than its own mass as it passes into Jupiter it will end up transferring that to the atoms it collides with and deposit all of its kinetic energy in Jupiter, not even very far from the top of the visible atmosphere. As Randall Munroe pointed out in the aforementioned What If #1, aerodynamics also isn’t a factor here since the speed of gas molecules is much much lower than the speed of the needle, so they will collide with atoms in the front of the needle rather than being deflected around it.
Depends on whether Jupiter sees the needle coming with it’s eye.
6 Likes
Whatever. Anything to get out of this timeline.
6 Likes
Worth a go.
7 Likes
My Nan was always pretty handy with needle and thread.
I’d trust her to catch the needle, and then knit me the world’s fastest scarf.
2 Likes
This is like asking what if an irresistable force tried to push an immovable object.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
