Monday, March 9, 2015

Wondering About Some Huge Numbers.

There are things that need huge numbers to describe them.  For instance, our universe is believed to be 11.8 billion (11,800,000,000) years old.  How would you like to blow the candles out on that birthday cake?

Another large number comes from the Large Hadron Collider.  Each of its opposing beams usually contains 2808 bunches with about 100 billion protons in each bunch.  Now you do the math, multiply those two numbers together.  Now that is a huge, huge number that gets pretty close to our National Debt (grin).  No grin, our debt is nothing to grin about.

How about another big number.  During the 85 days that the Mars Pathfinder lander was active back in 1997, it took more than 8.5 million measurements of Martian air pressure, temperature, and wind speed.  That is a lot of information for the technicians to look over. . . oh yes, I forgot that we are now in the computer age so maybe they just turned that job over to a super computer.

We have been having a lot of rain and it ain't over yet.  How long has it been that you saw a TV weatherman predict 100% chance of rain for this whole dang day.  Sure glad I am an old fart and don't have to go out in this unless I want to.  Ran out real quick last night (actually about 04:00 this morning) when the power went off and unplugged my motorhome from shore power.  Didn't quite get that done in time the last time the power went off and the surge, when it came back on, messed up my ignition and dashboard electronics.  No, I haven't got it fixed yet.  Now, I hope you all are warm and dry and make sure you have a great day, you hear?
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24 comments:

  1. GypsyMarch 9, 2015 at 11:56 AM

    When it comes to the universe, its age, the number of galaxies and stars, distances away from earth, etc., the numbers are mind-boggling! I wonder when they will finally figure out how to bend space and time so we can travel to other star systems quickly.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 2:45 PM

      I wonder if they succeeded in bending or stretching space/time if a person where to travel through it, would he or she get stretched a million miles or more???

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    2. GypsyMarch 9, 2015 at 6:23 PM

      I would think if it was bent enough, it would just be like walking through a door or a short tunnel to get to the other side. I ain't going through it if I'm gonna get stretched myself!

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  2. Andolphus GreyMarch 9, 2015 at 12:22 PM

    I think the numbers in economics have gotten bigger than the numbers in astronomy. Scary, right?

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 2:47 PM

      Dang, my personal economics must be out of sync, because mine have not gotten bigger, just smaller.

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  3. lotta joyMarch 9, 2015 at 2:19 PM

    Numbers fascinate me: especially quantum physics, bio-genetics, etc., and how all scientific questions seem to require numbers to figure out the answer. Numbers seem to be the only thing in life that is static.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 2:49 PM

      Math was always my favorite subject when in school. But too many zeros, whether before or after the decimal point can be hard to comprehend.

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  4. The Odd EssayMarch 9, 2015 at 2:20 PM

    Made me wonder about something.... My age is:
    879 Months; 3,822 Weeks; 26,756 days; 642,142 Hours; 38,528,478 Minutes; 23,311,708,643 Seconds old. My next birthday is in 272 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes and 13 seconds. How's THAT for a lot of huge numbers?

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 2:52 PM

      WOW!!! You are over 23 billion seconds old. . sounds a lot worse than just a little over 73 does. (grin).

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  5. Barney, The Old Fat ManMarch 9, 2015 at 3:08 PM

    All this makes the price of a pound of butterfly wings seem cheap.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 6:03 PM

      A pound of butterfly wings would come in a big, big box.

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  6. TROUBLEnTXMarch 9, 2015 at 5:12 PM

    Loved math, and grammer.
    DD somehow i don't see your posts when you do them,,(dont think). Like, just read the last one not long ago, then saw this new one.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 6:05 PM

      Check the time stamp on the other comments ahead of you to see if the blog just doesn't show up on your site or everywhere. At least you found it and math I liked, not so much grammer.

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  7. UnknownMarch 9, 2015 at 5:29 PM

    Dizzy money is just a tool and freedom is not free. I do not regret one bit paying for the luxury's we have today. My complaint is every one should pay,. just a thought

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 6:06 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 6:12 PM

      I agree that there shouldn't be a free ride. Everyone should work for what he gets and get paid what he is worth.

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    3. EdMarch 10, 2015 at 1:28 PM

      No, no Dizzy we can't have people paid what they are worth. There are some people that would starve to death if that become the norm.

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  8. Chuck and Anneke's RV travelsMarch 9, 2015 at 6:29 PM

    Those are impressive numbers, but I am more concerned about the big number in our national debt counter:(

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 7:10 PM

      Aren't we all!! Except maybe the powers that be in charge, or the keeper of the gate or key to the vault.

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  9. KarenInTheWoodsMarch 9, 2015 at 8:49 PM

    Always loved numbers.. especially big huge algebra problems like a puzzle to get them down to a single number answer!
    KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
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    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 9, 2015 at 10:09 PM

      Math and algebra were my favorites but calculus was a lot harder. Differential calculus was not too bad but integral calculus was tough for me.

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    2. EdMarch 10, 2015 at 1:30 PM

      Yes, it was calculus that showed me that I would become a Grade C Engineer at best. Changed my major to Accounting. HA

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  10. HermitJimMarch 10, 2015 at 10:28 AM

    Sorry, but I don't like big numbers. In fact, I don't really like math at all, but I do admit we use it every day. It's just that when the numbers get that big, I can't wrap my little bitty mind around them, ya know?

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 10, 2015 at 11:22 AM

      I don't believe anyone can comprehend those really big numbers, they are just a way to express something that we really don't understand.

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