this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023

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xkxd #2860: Decay Modes (imgs.xkcd.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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https://xkcd.com/2860

Alt text:

Unlike an Iron Age collapse, a Bronze Age collapse releases energy, since copper and tin are past the iron peak on the curve of binding energy.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

https://explainxkcd.com/2860

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

The skull presumably represents the finality of such a decay, given that the end stage of human decay leaves behind a skeleton, something that does not exist in nucleons. [citation needed]