Source: https://xkcd.com/3200/
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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Can someone explain this? I understand it but I want to make sure my cat does too
It just lists the elements in a form of chemical formula with their estimated quantity in universe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_formula
In this comic, the "compound" is the entire observable universe. So it's the simplest whole number ratio of every atom in the observable universe
A more in depth explanation for this comic (and all other xkcd comics) is here: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3200:_Chemical_Formula
Add to this, the subscripts are raised to exponents. I have never seen that before in a chemical formula, so it took me a while to figure out what those numbers were.
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