capacity
Original: capacity on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (caption): Popular science articles about energy often report dramatic findings like this:
[Mock headline] SciNooz.com — "More solar capacity added this year than fossil fuel capacity"
Panel 2 (caption): Strictly speaking, nothing WRONG was said, but the phrasing can be misleading:
Woman (gray-haired, round glasses): "'Capacity' is how much power you'd generate if the plant operated constantly. But solar stops operating when the sun goes down."
Panel 3 (caption): This is a non-trivial difference.
Woman (writing at a chalkboard): "To figure out 'actual output' of energy, multiply solar capacity by about 0.2, wind by about 0.3, fossil fuel by about 0.5 or nuclear by about 0.9."
[Chalkboard shows: W [solar] 0.2, [wind] 0.3]
Panel 4 (scroll caption): As a public service, we hereby propose a simple way to remember the difference:
Panel 5 (header): CAPACITY:
Man (to woman): "Baby, I have the erotic capacity to do it 20 times tonight."
Woman: "Come with me."
Panel 6 (header): ACTUAL OUTPUT:
Woman: "Ready for round two?"
Man: "What, now?"
Woman: "But... but you said.."
Man: "Look, 5% is pretty good for me, ok?"
Votey:
A woman holding a baby, with a man and another person nearby, one says: "Best erotic nameplate capacity joke ever."
[Mock headline] SciNooz.com — "More solar capacity added this year than fossil fuel capacity"
Panel 2 (caption): Strictly speaking, nothing WRONG was said, but the phrasing can be misleading:
Woman (gray-haired, round glasses): "'Capacity' is how much power you'd generate if the plant operated constantly. But solar stops operating when the sun goes down."
Panel 3 (caption): This is a non-trivial difference.
Woman (writing at a chalkboard): "To figure out 'actual output' of energy, multiply solar capacity by about 0.2, wind by about 0.3, fossil fuel by about 0.5 or nuclear by about 0.9."
[Chalkboard shows: W [solar] 0.2, [wind] 0.3]
Panel 4 (scroll caption): As a public service, we hereby propose a simple way to remember the difference:
Panel 5 (header): CAPACITY:
Man (to woman): "Baby, I have the erotic capacity to do it 20 times tonight."
Woman: "Come with me."
Panel 6 (header): ACTUAL OUTPUT:
Woman: "Ready for round two?"
Man: "What, now?"
Woman: "But... but you said.."
Man: "Look, 5% is pretty good for me, ok?"
Votey:
A woman holding a baby, with a man and another person nearby, one says: "Best erotic nameplate capacity joke ever."
Alt text
A six-panel comic explaining energy 'capacity' versus 'actual output.' Panel 1: a caption notes popular science articles report dramatic findings, shown as a mock headline from SciNooz.com reading 'More solar capacity added this year than fossil fuel capacity.' Panel 2: a gray-haired woman with round glasses explains that nothing said was wrong but it can mislead — 'capacity' is how much power you'd generate if a plant operated constantly, but solar stops when the sun goes down. Panel 3: at a chalkboard she says this is a non-trivial difference; to get actual output, multiply solar capacity by about 0.2, wind by 0.3, fossil fuel by 0.5, or nuclear by 0.9. Panel 4: a scroll announces, as a public service, a simple way to remember the difference. Panel 5, labeled CAPACITY: a man tells a woman, 'Baby, I have the erotic capacity to do it 20 times tonight,' and she replies, 'Come with me.' Panel 6, labeled ACTUAL OUTPUT: in bed, the woman asks 'Ready for round two?' The man says 'What, now?' She says 'But... but you said..' He replies, 'Look, 5% is pretty good for me, ok?' — the joke being that stated capacity vastly overstates actual output. Votey aftercomic: a roughly sketched scene of a woman holding a baby with two others nearby; one says, 'Best erotic nameplate capacity joke ever.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.