From less than 700kb in size to more than 8 megs for only double the resolution ? That's why wikipedia feel sluggish sometimes. Why even changing it to a worse file format ? What's the points ?
The resolution is actually quadrupled by doubling the value of both axes. In this case going from 1500x1424 (2.1MP) to 3504x3327 (11.7MP) multiplies the total number of pixels by 5.4
With the same level of jpeg compression you'd expect it to jump from 700KB to roughly 4MB. Since both images are the same file format, the rest of the file size difference is likely attributable to less jpeg compression being used in the larger image.
I'm pretty sure you only get the full resolution image when clicking on it, not right away when loading the page. That would at least explain why you can download images in multiple resolutions from Wikipedia.
Yeah, but the article itself uses a downsized version of the image. Actually being able to see a lot more detail when opening the full size one is nice.