Les Jones

Science > 10 to the 80th Power is a Huge-assed Number

When I see huge-assed numbers, one reality check I use is to compare them to the number of atoms in the universe. I always think of it as 10^70 (the number one followed by 70 zeroes), but that's apparently just for our little hometown galaxy. This Wikipedia entry puts the number of atoms in the known universe at closer to 10^80.

Using inflation theory, the number of atoms in the observable universe can be estimated to be between 4×10⁷⁸ and 6×10⁷⁹. However, because of the possibly infinite nature of the universe, the total number of atoms in the entire universe may be much larger or even infinite. This does not change the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe since that is the number of atoms within about 14 billion light years of us - which is all that we can observe since the universe is only about 14 billion years old.

So when I see a number that's supposed to represent something physical, I know it can't exceed the number of atoms in the known universe, or else there wouldn't be enough matter to make the stuff that's being counted.

Incidentally, the next paragraph in that Wikipedia entry for atoms is hilarious in a Billy and Susie, apple-cheeked, World Book encyclopedia way:

Atoms serve many important roles in industry, including in nuclear power plants, industrial materials science, and many roles in the chemical industry.

Gosh, I never thought about atoms being useful, but it's ever so true! When I bought my car, the salesman told me it was chock-full of 100% pure atoms, and I had some nutritious and tasty atoms in my breakfast cereal this morning. I just can't imagine a world without atoms. Thanks, DuPont!