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| Post Info | TOPIC: Universe Size |
| Posted By: Curtis Posted On: Feb 5, 2008 Views: 1229 | Universe Size WOW! Did you know that the universe is about 15.5 billion lightyears across? |
| Posted By: Curtis Posted On: Feb 5, 2008 Views: 1228 | RE: Universe Size Oh, 1 more thing. Most of the universe is empty space. Nuthin 2 do with size tho! |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Feb 9, 2008 Views: 1218 | RE: Universe Size Yes, its pretty big and mostly empty space as you say. Even matter, which is made up of atoms, is nearly all empty space. Weird when you think about it. |
| Posted By: Kent Posted On: Feb 12, 2008 Views: 1214 | RE: Universe Size 15.5 billion light years across? That kind of deflates my enthusiasm on the universe's size then, because I always thought it was bigger than I could ever imagine. Well my imagination imagined it being 1,000,000 zillion trillion light years across. I guess the universe isn't as grand as I thought it was. :( Anyone sorta know what I mean? Obviously 15.5 billion light years across is too big to wrap one's mind around, but still...To be able to put a number on the size of our universe takes some thrill out of it. It's as if we figured it out, and now it's boring. Time to move on to calculating the size of something else. Feel me? |
| Posted By: WAS Posted On: Feb 13, 2008 Views: 1208 | RE: RE: Universe Size It is possible to calculate the density of the universe. Though many physicists have different answers. To do this you need mass and volume. If you have those it is simple to work it out but we disagree. The universe is not 1.55e10 light years side to side it is an estimate. Some say the it is more 2.34e34 x 4.34e23 (+ a 1e34 bulge in the middle W |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Feb 13, 2008 Views: 1204 | RE: Universe Size WAS, Excuse my ignorance but was does this mean? " The universe is not 1.55e10 light years side to side it is an estimate. Some say the it is more 2.34e34 x 4.34e23 (+ a 1e34 bulge in the middle" 1)What is 1.55e10 light years? Never seen that term in my life! Let alone 1e34. And what on earth is 2.34e34 x 4.34e23"? You making this up? 2) A bulge in the midle of the universe? Never heard that one before either. Where then is the 'centre of the universe'? It doesn't have one! |
| Posted By: Kent Posted On: Feb 13, 2008 Views: 1199 | RE: Universe Size 1.55e10 is very common in the US...maybe not where you're from Keith. It simply translates to: 1.55 X 10^10, which is equivalent to 15.5 billion. Hopefully you followed that. Anyway, what about a response to my comment? Agree/Disagree? |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Feb 14, 2008 Views: 1195 | RE: RE: Universe Size I have to admit that I am not up to speed on obscure mathematical symbols. So if 1.55e10 is 15.5 billion why not just put 15.5 billion? If I follow you correctly then e10 simply means a billion. Therefore so does 10^10. I have never seen e10 and don't understand how that, or 10^10 equals a billion. Please explain for me. Even wikipedia does not mention any of that. I strongly disagree with your strange comment that the universe has a bulge in the middle! How would that be known? Where is the middle? |
| Posted By: Kent Posted On: Feb 14, 2008 Views: 1188 | RE: Universe Size Well I'll try to answer a few questions Keith. First of all I'm pretty sure the 'e' in 1.55e10 stands for 'exponent'. In America, all of our scientific calculators have that 'e' character (exponent button), so that instead of punching in 15500000000 in our calculators we can simply punch in 1.55e10 or even 15.5e9. Why use 1.55e10 rather than 15.5e9? Well because of significant digits of course. If you're not familiar with significant digits I'm sure Wikipedia has an article on that. Anyway, moving on. 1.55^10 is equivalent to the other statements. In this case the '^' (carrot) signifies an exponent as well. There is also a '^' button on most of our scientific calculators, and it is used almost the exact same way as the 'e' button, however the '^' is not seen as 'good practice' to use. I know there is a reason why, but I cannot remember the explanation my physics teacher gave. To read a statement like 1.55e10 aloud it would sound like this: "One point five five to the tenth power". This is the same as 1.55 X 10^10, which would read as: "One point five five times ten to the tenth power". Keith, to answer your question about the other numbers he uses; I have no clue. I didn't recognize those numbers as constants I've learned in science or anything, so I am not sure why he chose those numbers, but that could simply be because I haven't learned it yet. Anyway, hope that made some sense. |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Feb 14, 2008 Views: 1186 | RE: Universe Size Kent, Thanks for taking the trouble to explain that to me, I appreciate it. I do not use a scientific calculator so I am unfamiliar with the terms. It makes sense now thanks. I think, lol. Re your comment. I agree that we somehow imagine the universe to be much vaster than 15 billion light years, or whatever. However this is simply the estimated age of the universe times light-speed. When we consider that light speed is 670,616,629.2 miles per hour it is a pretty big place. If you multiply the sums out it is very impressive! That's roughly 5,870,000,000,000 miles per year x 15 billion years = 88,050,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles. That's pretty big, and sounds a lot bigger than 15 billion light years. ps I calculated this by hand very roughly on a post it note, so if its wrong tell me. |
| Posted By: gandalf the grey, behind that ****ing jedi Posted On: May 24, 2008 Views: 1098 | RE: Universe Size Keith has never seen a scientific calculator I reckon. He must be one dumb ****! And this guy's writing books? What has the world come to? *Shakes head* |
| Posted By: last Posted On: May 24, 2008 Views: 1097 | RE: Universe Size I was just kidding. I was last! I'm a bit overtired, otherwise fine, thanks. |
| Posted By: Red Dog Posted On: Dec 12, 2008 Views: 1003 | RE: Universe Size "Yes, its pretty big and mostly empty space as you say. Even matter, which is made up of atoms, is nearly all empty space. Weird when you think about it" Weird and informative. Personally, I think that what is not in the picture (empty) is more informative than what is. |
| Posted By: Kevin Posted On: Jan 25, 2009 Views: 974 | RE: RE: Universe Size Kent just so you know 1.55e^10 has the same signigicant digits as 15.5e^9. They both have three. There is no difference between the two. 1.55e^10 is preffered usually becuase it is a more "simplified" version if the decimal comes after the first number. |
| Posted By: Serj Tankian Posted On: Apr 15, 2009 Views: 927 | RE: Universe Size i know the truth i saw it in my dreams that doctor Bryson Kingsley will kidnap Bianca and little katie and take them to Brazil and force her to marry him so in conclusion the size of a pea is compared with the relative matter of particle physics depending on wave oscillations and the photoelectric effect when photons are emitted from a metal surface |