Geometric mean

Sep 16, 2014 08:09

A human cell contains ~10^14 atoms; a human body contains ~ 10^14 (human) cells (plus ~10^15 symbiotic bacteria in the intestines).
Earth is ~2*10^8 larger (linearly) than an apple; an apple is ~2*10^8 larger than an atom.
Diameter of an atom is ~10^4 diameter of its nucleus; distance from the Sun to the Kuiper cliff is ~10^4 Sun's radius.

Wow!

Now, if you think about it, you can produce an inexhaustible stream of such "wow" facts.
E.g., take the total human population: ~7 billion. Take the smallest country: Pitcairn islands with 56 people. The geometric average is ~600k people. So, the world is 10,000 times as big as Montenegro, which is 10,000 as populous as Pitcairn islands. Wow!
Previous post Next post
Up