xkcd What If?
Absurd hypothetical questions answered with serious science and stick figures.
Quick read
This page is the What If? section of xkcd giving a detailed scientific analysis of whether dropping a comet into the ocean could cool Earth. It explains why that idea fails, quantifies heating and greenhouse effects, and suggests the only plausible benefit would be using a slow descent for energy generation.
- Falling comet heat would melt and vaporize it, warming atmosphere
- Comet-released CO2 would trap heat for centuries
- Lowering a comet slowly could, in theory, generate a yearu2019s global energy
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xkcd What If? was shared on NexURLs by skilo on October 15, 2026, in Science.
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