Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Drinking coffee each morning when I wake up, all sorts of things run through my mind. This morning, I thought about the following.

It’s always been incomprehensible to me as to the vastness of our galaxy (the Milky Way), and our universe. When one gets into the numbers of millions, billions and trillions, everybody’s eyes glaze over. Over the years I’ve seen commentators and politicians on TV mix up millions and billions when talking. Most people don’t even notice.

So, I tried to come up with a way to comprehend the vastness of our galaxy (Milky Way), not in terms of size, but the number of stars in our galaxy. Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. How do we wrap our heads around 100 billion stars?

I said, how long would it take to start with the number 1, and add 1 to it every second? Assuming we lived to a hundred years old, it would take us 31.7 LIFETIMES or CENTURIES to reach the number 100 billion. One and a half times longer than when JESUS supposedly was here.

I can “slightly” wrap my head around those numbers.

Now, as of 2020, with findings from the Hubble telescope, it’s estimated that there are about 200 TRILLION galaxies in our universe! So, once again, the numbers become incomprehensible to us. Also, today, based on string theory (highly controversial), it’s estimated that there could be 5 to 50 universes in what’s called the multiverse!

Now, with all those numbers and times, multiply by 5 to 10. That’s the number of planets circling those billions of trillions of stars.

And we think we’re the only planet with intelligent life? Really??

My numbers could be way off, and if so I’m sure one of you math wizzes out there will let me know.

But I’m hoping that to those of you who got to the end of this little diatribe, you at least have a little bit more of an appreciation and understanding for the vastness of this universe.

And I won’t even go into how all insignificant that makes us.

Ollieboy

Try decaf.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Think of ALL the life forms on our sub-ecosystem we call Earth.
What makes one think that there may not be another sub-ecosystem (or more) in the master ecosystem we call the Universe. If so, why this particular planet?

Superiority?
Narrow mindedness?

I'll go with the odds that we are not alone in the universe.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Love it!

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

Billions are easy if you think about our national debt.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

There is a number called a Googol (not the ISP) written about in a book called 1-2-3 Infinity by George Gamov. It is a 10 with 100 as the exponent. It is so big that another name given to it seems silly, 10 duotrigintillion. And that number is dwarfed by a number named the Googolplex. It is a ten with a duotruigintillion as the exponent. The actual size of the number dwarfs the number of atoms in the entire universe and probably in the multiverses if they exist. Another weird thing Gamov discusses in the book is infinity. He states that the infinity of all numbers is smaller than the infinity of even numbers. That makes rational sense in the numbers we can follow: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... is a smaller series than 2, 4, 6, 8, 10... But at infinity, it seems irrational and that's because infinity itself is irrational. Ain't math grand. I'm sticking to f stops.

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

What?

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Well said.

If there is a lifeform that has evolved to the point that it is capable of intergalactic travel, they will avoid this primitive earth with all due caution!!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yup, they lock their doors when they fly by.....

It would be funny if they check us every so often to see if we're "ready".

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

I read the book I mentioned and I still reply the same way you did.

df61743 Loc: Corpus Christi, TX

Frederick,

I bet you would have fun with Universe Sandbox 2.

Free download at https://universe-sandbox-2.en.softonic.com/

Dick

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Thanks. F-stops works for me!

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Exactly!

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Large numbers are always scary. The (USA) national debt is something on the order of $30 Trillion ($30,000,000,000,000). Yes, it's a large number, but divide that by the number of people in the USA (another large number, about 300 million) and you get $100,000 per person. Still a large number, but less than the average price of a house. Doesn't make it any more manageable, but it's less scary.

$100,000 is a stack of $1 bills about 67 feet tall (wrapped tightly).

The best example of large (and small) numbers I have come across is a short film clip by Charles Eames called 'Powers of 10'. It starts with a couple in Chicago having a picnic. Aerial view showing 1 square meter with a picnic and two picnickers on a blanket. It pans out to an area 10 meters on a side, then 100 meters on a side, etc. until it shows our galaxy. It then goes past that view until it is showing a square 100 million light years on a side (our galaxy is too small to resolve on that scale). It then zooms back in and goes below a 1 meter square, showing a mosquito on the picnic guy's arm, then a blood cell, then DNA, then atoms, then in to nuclei, then quarks. The original film was from 1968.

The 1977 version is on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 I believe it's the same except it goes just a bit further out and in.