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Since our last get together earlier this month, we have all traveled over 1 billion miles through outer space. To God knows where. That’s a lot of frequent flier miles. We learned that, you and I, Earth, our Solar System, the Milky Way, all the Galaxies and the Universe itself are moving at approximately 1.3 million miles per hour. Everything out there is in motion. Speed, however, is relative. Our proximity to objects changes our perspective and effects our perception of movement. To a certain degree it also impacts the scale of something we are observing and how we perceive distances between objects. I know you already understand this, but I still have a need to demonstrate these realities through a simple exercise. One I should have included in Part 1 of Speeding Through the Universe.
ADDENDUM TO PART 1- Exercise on Movement
Need more pizzazz? Try this.
We will now take a look at the numbers of Galaxies, Stars and Planets in the Milky Way as well as throughout the Universe.
Buckle up again, as we reenter the Twilight Zone. Do Do Do do.
The gargantuan size of the Universe coupled with the humongous quantities of Galaxies, Stars and Planets (“key players”) can best be understood by scaling them down to sizes humans can relate to. Then substituting familiar objects for each of the “key players” and working with them in our more relatable earthly environment.
The Key Players will be represented as follows:
Galaxy- A Galaxy will be represented by a single Grain of Sand.
Stars– A Star will be represented by a single Golf Ball. Titleist of course.
Planets– A Planet will be represented by a single Basketball.
You don’t have to memorize them. Here’s a chart for those that like charts.
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Key Player | Galaxies | Stars | Planets |
Reference Substitute | Basketballs | Golf Balls- Titleist of course | Grains of Sand (Organic California sand) |
Ratio | 1 Basketball = 1 Galaxy | 1 Golf Ball = 1 Star | 1 Grain of Sand = 1 Planet |
|  |  |  |
Cosmic Quantities
I broke down the quantities of each of the key players by their total cubic volume as well as their area covered, when viewed as a single layer, then distributed side by side. I decided to use these measures, as well as several different structures, to make the large quantities relatable. Each of us sees things a bit differently and might not relate to one or more of my choices. I hope some of them hit a cord and you are able to grasp and appreciate the breathtaking scale of our Universe.
I then filled familiar structures (Empire State Bldg.) and landmarks (Grand Canyon, USA, Earth) with the total number of estimated Galaxies, Stars and Planets.
Lastly, if there is time and I have the energy, we will attempt to analyze the distances that separate all of the heavenly bodies. I found this a bit more challenging. Let’s see what happens.
Here is a synopsis of the quantities of key players in the Universe. Don’t look at it yet. Okay, look at it, but only to get a feel for the numbers, we will be using. They, probably will not mean much as they lack context. Context will follow.
Important: For our purposes we are going to assume that all of the key players within each grouping, are of the same size. This however is not the case. The sizes of each, varies greatly.
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Summary: The Observable Universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old, with a diameter of 93 billion light-years. Within it are 2 trillion Galaxies, holding 200 sextillion Stars and anywhere from 500 sextillion to 1 septillion Planets, more or less. Our Milky Way has around *250-400 billion Stars and **250-400 billion Planets.
* Estimates range from 100 billion to 400 billion. We will be using 250 billion.
**Estimates range from 500 sextillion- 1 septillion. We will be using 500 sextillion.
OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE13.8 billion years old – Diameter of 93 billion light-years | |||
| GALAXIES | STARS | PLANETS |
Milky Way Galaxy | 1 | 250 billion | *250-400 billion |
Observable Universe | 2 trillion | 200 sextillion | **500 sextillion- 1 septillion |
* Estimates range from 100 billion to 400 billion. We will be using 250 billion.
**Estimates range from 500 sextillion- 1 septillion. We will be using 500 sextillion.
Galaxies are vast systems composed of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, all bound together by gravity. They are the fundamental building blocks of the universe. There are five major types of Galaxies: Spiral, Elliptical, Irregular, Ventricular and Dwarfs. Our Milky Way Galaxy is a Spiral Galaxy.
Size & Mass: Galaxies can vary greatly in size from dwarfs with just a few million stars to giants with one hundred trillion stars or more.
Formation and Evolution: Galaxies are believed to form from the gravitational collapse of gas and dark matter. They evolve through interactions and mergers with other galaxies which can trigger bursts of star formation and alter their shapes.
Supermassive Black Holes: Many galaxies, including the Milky Way, harbor massive black holes at their centers. These black holes can be millions to billions of times the size of the Sun.
Galactic Clusters and Superclusters: Galaxies are not distributed randomly but are found in groups known as clusters which can contain hundreds or thousands of galaxies. Clusters themselves are part of even larger structures called superclusters. They make up what is known as the Cosmic Web.
I could get carried away, talking, just about Galaxies. There is so much to digest. I won’t. But I will say that the next closest non-Dwarf Galaxy is Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away, with a diameter of 220,000 light-years, containing approximately 1 trillion stars. The next closest of 10 Galaxies range from 3 million to 13 million light-years away. There are a number of Dwarf Galaxies that are much closer to our Milky Way. Though they contain anywhere from millions to billions of stars. Hardly, dwarfs by my definition. The 10 closest Dwarf Galaxies to us, range from as little as 125,000 light-years to 690,000 light-years. All have a diameter of between, 1000 light-years to 10,000 light-years. A couple of these 10 Dwarfs, have only 250,000 or so Stars. One, Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy has about 1 billion stars.
So, as you can see even the smallest distance to the next Galaxies, 125,000 light-years, makes inter-galactic space travel impossible. Unless, you are one of the magical thinkers that believe “worm holes” (bending space-time) can actually be created.
A Note on Worm Holes: Recent theoretical studies indicate that even, if possible, it would take the mass-energy of an entire Planet or even Star to create a worm hole. It would be unstable and collapse within a fraction of a second. Hmmm. Not very inviting.
It is now estimated, thanks to advancements in technology and astronomical observations, that there are 2 trillion, yes, 2 trillion, Galaxies in the known Universe. This estimated has increased dramatically over the past 50 years. In the 1970’s it was suggested there were a mere 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. This dramatic increase is due to advancements in technology and astronomical observations. The Hubble and James Webb telescopes get most of the credit but the Spitzer and VLT (Very Large Telescope) played a major role in better detecting faint, distant galaxies. They also contributed to a better understanding of Galaxy formation and distribution. To be clear the actual number of Galaxies did not change, rather, we have been able to detect more of them.
Ok, now that we know a bit about Galaxies, let’s wrap our heads around the estimated 2 trillion Galaxies in our Universe.
Below is a chart showing the estimated total number of Galaxies in the Universe (2 trillion), substituting basketballs for galaxies. 1 Basketball = 1 Galaxy. The cubic volume and area of the basketballs has been calculated. I then filled or covered familiar structures and landmarks with basketballs.
Suggestion: Select one structure at a time. Close your eyes perhaps and envision just one of the structures filled or covered with basketballs. Then imagine dozens or thousands or bazillions of them as totaled below, all filled to the brim or covered with basketballs side by side. Get a feel for the enormous quantities. When you are ready, convert all the basketballs back to Galaxies in your mind. That’s a hell of a lot of Galaxies. 2 trillion. Now spread them out and keep distancing them until you get to around 1 to 2 million light-years apart. An impressive 5-10 quintillion miles between each of those 2 trillion galaxies. The average distance, separating the largest Galaxies, is around 10 light-years, in case you were wondering.
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GALAXIES IN OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE- 2 TRILLION13.8 billion years old – Diameter of 93 billion light-years | |||
1 Basketball = I Galaxy | Cubic Volume | Area Covered (1 high) |
|
Number of Basketballs | 2 trillion | 2 trillion | |
Fill Capacity | Area Capacity | ← | |
Empire State Bldg. | 14,000 times | Over 22 million | Football Fields |
Olympic Swimming Pools | 6 million times | 99% of Pennsylvania | State of Pennsylvania |
New York’s Central Park | 1454 ft. deep (height of Empire State Building – 10 times | 140% the area of Ireland | Ireland |
Summary: 2 trillion basketballs would fill the Empire State Building 14,000 times or 6,000,000 Olympic sized swimming pools or cover Central Park in New York to a depth of 1454 feet (the height of the Empire State Bldg.), 10 times over. Similarly, laid side by side, 1 high, 2 trillion basketballs would cover over 22 million football fields, 99% of the State of Pennsylvania or the entire country of Ireland nearly one and a half times. Top of the morning to ya.
This blows me away. Each Basketball, as a Galaxy would contain hundreds of billions of Stars and Planets.
* Don’t forget my suggestion above. Take your time.
In case you have forgotten: Stars are massive, luminous spheres of plasma held together by gravity. They produce light and heat through nuclear fusion which occurs in their cores. This process converts hydrogen into helium and releases enormous amounts of energy. Our Sun is a Star. Stars can vary in size from small Dwarf Stars about the size of our Earth to Giant Size Stars that are 10 to 100 times the Size of our Sun. Unimpressed? Then consider Supergiant Stars up to 1000 times the size of our Sun and Hypergiant Stars 1500 times the Sun’s radius. Our Sun’s radius is 432,000 miles by the way. So, the big guys are 400 million miles across. That is big. However, the bigger they are the sooner they fall. The life span of the Giant Stars ranges from about 10 to 20 million years. A babe in the woods. Our Sun by comparison is around 4.6 billion years old. Middle aged, considering, the Sun is projected to burn-out in approximately 4.5 billion years.
On average each Galaxy might contain around 100-400 billion Stars although this number can vary widely, up into the trillions for the largest Galaxies. The estimated number of Stars in our Milky Way Galaxy is between 100 billion and 400 billion.
A word about Solar Systems: By definition a solar system consists of a star and all the objects bound to it by gravity, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. The term “solar system” is often specifically used to refer to our own system which is centered around the Sun. In general, any star with orbiting planets can be said to have its own solar system, often referred to as a “planetary system” or “star system.” Most known solar systems are centered around a single star, like our own solar system. Some solar systems contain two or more stars. In these systems, stars orbit a common center of mass. These are known as binary or multiple star systems.
For our purposes, we will assume that each Solar System has but one Star across all the Galaxies in the Universe. A very conservative approach thereby avoiding charges of exaggeration.
Now that we know a bit about Stars, let’s come to terms with the estimated 200 sextillion of Stars in the Universe.
Below is a chart showing the estimated total number of Stars in the Universe (200 sextillion), substituting golf balls for Stars. 1 Golf Ball = 1 Star. The cubic volume and area of the golf balls has been calculated. I then filled or covered familiar structures and landmarks with golf balls.
Suggestion: Once again, I encourage you to try my way of imagining unimaginable quantities of Stars in the Galaxies. Select one structure at a time. Close your eyes perhaps and envision just one of the structures filled or covered with golf balls. Then imagine dozens or thousands or bazillions of them as totaled below, all filled to the brim or covered with golf balls side by side. Get a feel for the enormous quantities. When you are ready, convert all the golf balls back to Stars in your mind. That’s a lot of Stars. 200 sextillion. Now spread them out and keep distancing them until you get to around 5 million light-years apart. That is the average distance between Stars in the Milky Way.
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STARS IN OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE- 200 sextillion aka 200 billion trillion | |||
1 Golf Ball = I Star | Volume | Area (1 high) |
|
Number of Golf Balls | 200 sextillion | 200 sextillion | |
Fill Capacity | Area Capacity | ← | |
Empire State Bldg. | 7.76 trillion times | 35 quadrillion | Football Fields |
Grand Canyon (average width & depth) 277 miles long x 10 miles wide x 1 mile deep | 703,000 times | 275 million times | State of Texas |
Pacific Ocean | 12 times | 45 million times | USA Surface Area |
Earth | 625 miles high | 714,000 times | Earth’s Entire Surface |
Summary: 200 sextillion golf balls would fill the Empire State Building over 7 trillion times, the Grand Canyon (277 miles long x 10-mile-wide average x 1-mile-deep average) over 700,000 times. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Unimpressed? This quantity of golf balls would also fill the entire Pacific Ocean one-dozen times or when dumped on planet Earth the pile would rise 625 miles high. More than twice the height of the International Space Station (ISS). Wow.
If you like flat surface measurements try these: Placed side by side 1 high 200 sextillion golf balls would cover the entire surface of the Earth over 700,000 times, our entire country 45 million times, the State of Texas 45 million times or 35 quadrillion football fields. Hard to fathom.
* Don’t forget my suggestion above. Take your time.
Now’s the time to take one. It’s Intermission. Actually, more of a Musical Interlude. Here are links to two pieces of music you might enjoy while clearing your head of numbers. Choose from the Theme music from 2001 A Space Odessey, how appropriate is that? Remember, it starts slowly. Or, Pachelbels Canon in D, which I love. Very relaxing. Apologies to those expecting popcorn.
Refresher: A planet is a celestial body that (a) orbits a star or stellar remnant, (b) has sufficient mass to be nearly round in shape, and (c) has cleared its orbit of other debris.
TYPES OF PLANETS:
Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Gas Giants: Jupiter, Saturn
Ice Giants: Uranus, Neptune
Dwarf Planets: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and others.
Rogue Planets a.k.a free floaters: Planets not orbiting any star and can be any size. That’s scary. So, keep a lookout for OGLE-2016-BLG-1928 (25,000 light-years away in the center of the Milky Way) and CFBDSIR 2149-0403 which is much, much closer, only 100 light-years away.
Since we are most familiar with our own solar system, here are a few interesting facts about our neighboring Planets:
Mercury: Has no atmosphere and experiences temperature fluctuations from –280°F at night to 800°F during the day.
Venus: Known for its thick, toxic atmosphere and surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead.
Earth: The only known planet to support life, with a diverse climate and abundant water.
Mars: Home to the tallest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, nearly 72,000 feet high. Mt. Everest’s elevation is 29,029 feet.
Jupiter: Has a Great Red Spot, a massive storm larger than Earth, raging for at least 400 years. Winds reach speeds of 268 mph. An EF5 tornado on Earth begins at 200 mph.
Saturn: Known for its stunning ring system made of ice and rock particles.
Uranus: Rotates on its side, with its axis tilted by about 98 degrees.
Neptune: Has the strongest winds in our solar system, with speeds up to 1,300 mph, mostly in the equatorial and polar regions. It actually rains methane instead of water.
Pluto: My favorite. Once considered the ninth planet, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Some scientists and astronomical organizations, are focusing on a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of celestial bodies, which could bring Pluto back into the fold. Hurray for inclusiveness. There are several types of planets out there in the Universe and here are a few with some familiar.
The estimated number of Planets in the Universe ranges from 500 sextillion up to 1 septillion or more. In the Milky Way Galaxy, the estimated quantity of Planets ranges between 100 billion and 400 billion Planets. Who’s correct. Hard to say. I am going with the lower number of 500 sextillion Planets in the Universe and the mid-range of 250 billion Planets in the Milky Way. I know what you’re thinking. What’s the difference between ahem, sex and sep… tillion? The answer- 3 zeros. Septillion has 24 zeros and sextillion only 21. Way smaller a number.
Alright. Forget about basketballs and golf balls for a while. Think, feel and envision sand. Fine sand, found on your favorite beach. My sand comes from Southern California, as God intended.
Below is a chart showing the estimated total number of Planets in the Universe (500 sextillion), substituting grains of sand for Planets. 1 Grain of Sand = 1 Planet.The cubic volume and area covered by grains of sand has been calculated. I then filled or covered familiar structures and landmarks with sand.
Suggestion: You know the drill. Select one structure at a time. Close your eyes perhaps and envision just one of the structures filled or covered with sand. Grains of sand are tiny. Then imagine dozens or thousands or bazillions of them as totaled below, all filled to the brim or covered with grains of sand side by side, one high. Get a feel for the enormous quantities. When you are ready, convert all the grains of sand back to Planets in your mind. Now spread them out and keep distancing them until you get to around 385 million miles apart. That’s the average distance between Planets in the milky Way. If you prefer the distances between Stars in the Milky Way use 4-5 light-years. That should be good enough for other Galaxies as well.
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PLANETS IN OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE- 500 SEXTILLION- 1 SEPTILLION | |||
1 Grain of Sand = I Planet | Volume | Area (1 high) |
|
Number of Golf Balls | 500 sextillion | 500 sextillion | |
Fill Capacity | Area Capacity | ← | |
Empire State Bldg. | 32 million times | 25 trillion | Football Fields |
Grand Canyon (average width & depth) 277 miles long x 10 miles wide x 1 mile deep | 8 times | 94,000 times | State of Texas |
Olympic Swimming Pools | 13 billion | ||
Earth’s Volume | Entire Planet 3” deep | 128 times | Earth’s Entire Surface |
USA | All 48 States 12 ft. deep | 8000 times | USA Surface Area |
Sahara Desert (9.2 million square miles x 100 feet deep) | ½ to 1 | ||
45” Semi-Truck | *317 billion | ** Bumper to Bumper= 2.7 million miles | 45” Semi-Truck |
I have no superlatives left.
Summary:
500 sextillion grains of sand would fill the Empire State Building over 32 million times, the Grand Canyon (277 miles long x 10-mile-wide average x 1-mile-deep average) over 8 times and over 13 billion Olympic swimming pools. That amount of sand would cover the entire Planet Earth to a depth of 3 inches or the entire USA (48 contiguous states) to a depth of 12 feet or half the Sahara Desert, 100 feet deep. I added a new familiar object for your reference- a 45’ Semi-truck completely filled with sand. 500 septillion grains of sand would fill 317 billion Semis. This number of semi-trucks lined up bumper to bumper would stretch for 2.7 million miles or over 100 times around the Earth’s equator. Getting creative and placing these semis 1000 wide, (16 miles across) side by side, they would stretch well beyond the entire USA or 2700 miles.
Okay, you area people, try these: 500 septillion grains of sand will cover 25 trillion Grid-Irons, the State of Texas 94,000 times or the entire Earth 128 times. Or, cover the entire USA in a layer of sand, 8000 times over.
My Favorite Exercise– Envisioning the Grand Canyon filled with sand. Believing that each grain was a giant Planet, all stacked upon one another, yearning to be free. 83 septillion planets. I then pick up the Grand Canyon, with both hands of course and tip it over sideways, slowing pouring all of them out, as the wind carries them out into the Universe. I then do this again, 7 more times. All 500 septillion Planets are now on their way to their rightful positions in their designated Galaxy.
New Favorite Exercise– I thought about it and now I think I like the 45′ Semi-truck vision even better. Visualizing over 300 billion semis filled to the brim with sand, each grain representing a planet. 1000 semis wide stretching across the USA and beyond, carrying a Universe full of planets.
By the way if you would rather use the higher estimate of 1 septillion Planets in the Universe than double the figures above.
A Note About Sand: Some suggest, and some scientists have made educated guesses about the number of grains of sand on Earth. The conservative estimate is 7.5 quintillion covering all the beaches and deserts on Earth. That supposes relatively shallow depths for sand. Using 100 feet for deserts and 20 feet for beaches the total reaches 950 quintillion. The number of Planets in the Universe of 500 sextillion is over 500 times larger than 950 quintillion. So, perhaps we can indeed claim that “there are more planets in the Universe than grains of sand on Earth”.
I cannot end without taking a quick look at the number of Planets in the Milk Way. It is after all our Galaxy. 99% of the Stars we will ever see are in the Milky Way. I am skipping any analysis of the number of Stars in the Milky Way, estimated at 250 billion. We don’t need to see piles of golf balls filling up the Grand Canyon or anything else at this point, do we? Okay, I can’t help myself. 250 billion golf balls would fill over 4000 Olympic size swimming pools.
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PLANETS IN MILKY WAY GALAXY- 250 BILLION | |||
1 Golf Ball = I Star | Volume | Area (1 high) |
|
Number of Grains of Sand | 250 billion | 250 billion | |
Fill Capacity | Area Capacity | ← | |
Bath Tubs | 54 | 6 | Soccer Fields |
Olympic Swimming Pools | State of Texas | ||
As you can see 250 billion Planets in the Milky Way would fill 54 standard sized bathtubs with sand. Or 5 Soccer Fields, which are 25% larger than an American football field.
I’m pooped. My head hurts. How about yours? We deserve a break. However, I did promise I would attempt to analyze the vast distances separating everything out there in the Universe. Attempting to comprehend astronomical units (AU), light-years, parsecs and the like is no easy task. Mercifully, a few individuals have done the heavy lifting and I will provide you with links should you want to pursue this further. I will leave you with a quote by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe: “Space is Big.”
Conclusion: Part of me thinks it is folly, a fool’s errand, to actually comprehend the Universe. It’s size, the contents, the distances involved, dark matter and more. But we gave it the old college try. Boola, boola. We did our best. Hopefully, all of us, if only for a moment felt connected in some way, to the heavens, then it was worth the effort.
Thank you for being a part of the journey.
As usual, my Grand Son’s introduced me to this amazing App. It is available for your phone (Apple and Android) and tablet (Pc and Mac). You can get it here on Google Play.
Company Spiel:
Universe in a Nutshell is an app by Kurzgesagt that allows users to explore the Universe’s range of sizes by comparing objects to each other. The app features over 250 objects, from fundamental particles to the observable universe’s largest stars, that users can zoom in and out of by swiping. Users can also tap on each object to read a brief description.
A theoretical particle that may be the smallest, measurable unit in the Universe. Often refered to as a tiny black hole.
Simple Use: Simply pinch your fingers together to scroll inward to the Planck or outward to the edge of the Universe.
I left my home in the small Western New York city of Batavia in March 1977 vowing never to shovel snow again. Never say never. Settling for 38 years in what was for me the "promised land" of Santa Barbara, California. I married, helped raise a family, started a business, traveled and live a wonderful life. We spent the last 10 years of our west coast journey in the small, quiet, picturesque town of Ojai. My oldest friends call me TJ.
My wife Deborah and I moved to Colorado in 2015 to be near our daughter, her husband and 2 growing grand-boys. Add 2 bulldogs (French & English) to the mix and our hands and hearts are full. We all reside in Niwot, a small quaint town 15 minutes north of Boulder. The mighty Rocky Mountains are at our doorstep.
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Mind-boggling, fascinating stuff! Thank goodness for your illustrations which really helped give perspective to these numbers. The Grand Canyon really worked for me.
One of my favorite bits of wonderment is the spiral which exists everywhere in nature and in space. Your piece reminded me that our own galaxy is a spiral structure. So is the DNA molecule, and some flowers and shells, and, and, and! I love that.
This two-part blog post is major and reminded of things I know, used to know, and never knew until now! Many thanks!
Your Welcome Frannie,
I’m glad you enjoyed the read. Yeah, the spiral thing is fascinating. I should look into that. Reminds me how interconnected everything in the Universe truly is.
Paul
A word on the Powers of Ten Video:
In 1977 when this video was produced our abilities to see deep into the Universe was limited to 10 24
or 100 million light-years. Today, thanks to the Webb Telescope and other advances we have extended that limit to 10 26. The extra 2 powers may not seem much, but it extends our range nearly to the end of the Observable Universe or 93 billion light-years.
On the small end of things, electron microscopes could only see down to 10 -16 as seen in the video. Today, we are able to, theoretically see down to 10 -35. The Planck.
Paul
Hello Again,
A word on the Powers of Ten Video:
In 1977 when this video was produced our abilities to see deep into the Universe was limited to 10 24 or 100 million light-years. Today, thanks to the Webb Telescope and other advances we have extened that limit to 10 26. The extra 2 powers may not seem much, but it extends our range nearly to the end of the Observable Universe or 93 billion light-years.
On the small end of things, electron microscopes could only see down to 10 -16 as seen in the video. Today, we are able to, theoretically see down to 10 -35. The Planck.
Paul
Hello Dave,
I must have hit a memorable chord with Speeding Through the Galaxy. Thanks a million for your thoughtful and interesting contributions.
I plugged your description of the video you saw back in 1993 into ChatGPT 4o and they found it instantly. ChatGPT: The video you remember from the Air and Space Museum is likely the 1977 short film Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames. Indeed it was.
A link to the Powers of Ten Video on Youtube appears at the bottom, under my name. Sorry, I am having issues with linking. It is a 9 minute video. Close enough to 3, considering it was 27 years ago. I watched it and it is indeed fascinating.
Chat also came up with the following regarding your “Disappearing Sun” and “mind blowing” consequences:
“Your thought experiment touches on some fascinating aspects of physics, particularly concerning the speed of gravity and the nature of information transfer in the universe.
In summary, if the Sun were to disappear, we would remain unaware of it for 8 minutes, both in terms of light and gravitational effects. The fact that both light and gravitational changes travel at the same speed is crucial to our current understanding of the universe. If this were not the case, it would indeed be a “mind-blowing” shift in our comprehension of physics”.
Paul
LINK to video: https://www.google.com/search?q=Powers+of+Ten+by+Charles+and+Ray+Eames.&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1034US1034&oq=Powers+of+Ten+by+Charles+and+Ray+Eames.&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCggCEAAYogQYiQUyCggDEAAYgAQYogTSAQgxMzQ5ajBqN6gCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e25b3b90,vid:Ww4gYNrOkkg,st:0
When one chooses to “blow” one’s mind, the volume and distances of the discernable universe is always a means to profoundly do so.
In 1993, my family and I lived in Maryland. We would often visit the Air and Space Museum. One of the fascinating displays was a 3-minute video produced by, if I remember correctly, a couple of IBM scientists/engineers.
It began with an image of a couple enjoying a picnic as seen from a camera suspended above them. As the first half of the video transpires, the camera moves away from the starting point at an exponential rate for each second that elapses. The video is made to be smooth, as if you are actually aboard the camera as it leaves the Earth, solar system, Milky Way, and out into the vastness that is the universe. It ends with a scene of stark “blackness” in which specs of particles/waves(?) of “light” flash randomly on/across the screen – as if you are gazing at the entire universe from the same perspective you began above the picnic 1 ½ minutes ago. The film then stops, and you are taken back to the image with which you began the “journey.”
You repeat the opposite journey, now moving “inward” past the picnic, the elements, molecules, atoms, particles, and the infinitesimally “vast.” When your journey ends, the image on the screen is of a stark blackness in which specs of particles/waves(?) of “light” flash randomly on/across the screen! The similarity of the journey was eerily memorable and remained with me from the many times I took the 3 minutes to make it!
Here is my own particular “thought experiment,” one that serves to remind me of both Man’s incredible ability to reason, revealing the profound understanding of the universe and our “place” in it, provided we do not fall victim to our own capabilities.
Dave
At the current juncture in mankind’s ascent within the Universe, the speed of light is believed to be a cosmic speed limit. The evidence that Man’s senses have detected, his experience has confirmed, and his Reason has deduced, provide evidence that this belief is true.
Of further thought and relevance, Isaac Newton identified the laws of motion and demonstrated the existence of “gravity” – within which aspects of those laws exist, over which Einstein’s constant “speed limit” of light presides.
Subsequently, it has since been scientifically demonstrated that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is approximately 93,000,0000 miles. For purposes of more-easily relating immense cosmic distances, this distance has been termed an “Astronomical Unit” (1.0 AU). (This distance actually varies between .983 289 8912 and 1.016 710 3335 “Astronomical Units.”)
Traveling at the believed-to-be cosmic speed limit, it takes light approximately 8 minutes to travel the distance between the Earth and Sun. In light of the above (no pun intended), I pose the following question:
If the Sun could be made to instantaneously disappear, what would be the evidence on Earth of it having done so, and “when” would Man become aware of it?
The Sun would obviously continue to “shine” and its energy flow would still arrive on Earth for the subsequent 8 minutes – though it no longer existed. What about Earth’s momentum around the Sun? Would it remain as it has for the 8 minutes of continuing “shine?” Or would, at the instant of the Sun’s disappearance, gravity no longer hold Earth in its orbit and the Earth would fly in whatever linear direction it was traveling when it lost the influence of the Sun’s gravity?
Alas, one can only speculate on the answer. That is because gravity is a force, the “means” whereby it exerts its influence, Man does not yet understand. If the theorized answer is that the Earth would remain “undisturbed” for an additional 8 minutes, then the propagation of the force known as gravity would be very similar to the propagation of the spectrum of energy waves we already, to some degree, understand. However, if – at the moment of the Sun’s disappearance, the Earth would immediately “feel” the loss of the Sun’s gravity, the implications to virtually the entire body of Man’s knowledge become as profound and “mind-blowing” as one might imagine!