Putting things into perspective....

[Porsche]

What about going in the other direction?

How small can you get?

[on-ramp]

In the Bohr model of an atom, electrons orbit about a fixed nucleas . This is the same as planets orbiting about a fixed "sun".
those two events happen at extraordinary scales from each other. Coincidence or an accident ?

[kstar]

How about a Googol?

It, of course, is a one followed by one hundred zeroes. It has been estimated by some that there are less than a googol particles in the observable universe.

And yet, as Carl Sagan once said, "A googol is precisely as far from infinity as is the number one."

Best,

Kurt

[on-ramp]

googol ? I hear there are some kind of internet search engine, no?

[DonDavis]

Originally posted by widebody911
Has anyone seen the plans for the hyperspace bypass?

According to the Vogons, they've been on display for 50 earth years in the planning department on Alpha Centauri.

[kstar]

Originally posted by on-ramp
In the Bohr model of an atom, electrons orbit about a fixed nucleas . This is the same as planets orbiting about a fixed "sun".
those two events happen at extraordinary scales from each other. Coincidence or an accident ?

Truly extraordinary scales and super-extraordinarily different properties between the "big and the "small". So different that a whole new field of physics was borne -> quantum mechanics.

And "unifying" the big and small remains the so called "holy grail" of physics.

Best,

Kurt

[TerryH]

In a recent issue of Discover magazine, there was a fun facts article. It was about emptying a magnum of wine into the ocean, letting it mix thoroughly, then refilling that bottle with ocean water. The odds that there would be a wine molecule from that magnum was something like 90%? Not sure if that is exactly correct, but it was amazingly high when you consider how many magnums of ocean water there is out there.

[M.D. Holloway]

I guess it also depends on the wine...some goes better with seafood.

[trekkor]

Originally posted by kstarnes
How about a Googol?

It, of course, is a one followed by one hundred zeroes. It has been estimated by some that there are less than a googol particles in the observable universe.

Yet the odds of life originating by chance is an even higher number to 1.
( odds are 10¹¹³ to 1, Brah )


Not to mention the odds of the universe starting from nothing.

The universe is amazing. Beyond comprehension, really.


KT

[Jagshund]

How did we go from threads like this to talking about boobs and strippers every day? Am I responsible for the degradation? I mean, the intelligent thought ends around December 2007, so I'd like to think I had something to do with it.

I, alone, am responsible for lowering the collective IQ of Pelican OT. Not sure if that's something to brag about or hide from the neighbors.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by on-ramp

forever, huh? how do you know that sooner or later you won't hit a brick wall?

does the universe stretch out in every direction into infinity , ie. there is no end?

When I was maybe 7 or 8 and starting to think about these kinds of concepts, I imagined the infinite universe to be this really huge place that had a really big concrete wall at the end. That satisfied me for a quite a while, until one night in bed it occurred to me, what's on the other side of that wall? It took me a while to fall asleep that night

It's truly awesome to consider just how insignificant our planet is, but the flipside to that is that this is all we know and can ever possibly know, at least in our lifetimes, so we may as well make the most of it.

[A930Rocket]

In talking to my philosophy professor, he seems to think that no matter how big our universe is, it could fit under some ogre's fingernail.






Can I have another hit....

[Talewinds]

One of my favorites...
YouTube - The Known Universe

[chocolatelab]

i'm just still pissed that pluto isn't a planet anymore

[911Rob]

couldn't agree more! "have fun"

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

And that's how insignificant our own galaxy is. To think we're special is just the most arrogant notion I've ever heard of.

I'm not so sure. I understand that, given the size of the Universe, how statistically unlikely it is that life would not exist somewhere else. And my belief system would be uninjured to find life elsewhere. And yet, I also believe we may be unique. We have been listening for radio signals for decades, and found none. The large, gaseous planets outside our orbit protect us from debris. So does our moon. The gentleness of Earth's climate over the past few million years, and few hundred million years, has allowed intelligent life to evolve. There are a myriad of considerations suggesting that intelligent life may be more unlikely than pure statistics would predict.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Superman

We have been listening for radio signals for decades, and found none.

The amount of time we've been listening and the miniscule slice of one tiny part of the universe we've managed to observe are statisically irrelevant. Even when we've been listening for 1000 yrs., it would be still the equivalent of taking a drop of water out of the ocean and concluding the Earth had no fresh water to sustain humans.

[KaptKaos]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

According to the Vogons, they've been on display for 50 earth years in the planning department on Alpha Centauri.

Love their poetry.

Has anyone seen my towel?

[sc_rufctr]

The most complex thing that we know of in the Universe is the grey matter between our ears.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

The amount of time we've been listening and the miniscule slice of one tiny part of the universe we've managed to observe are statisically irrelevant. Even when we've been listening for 1000 yrs., it would be still the equivalent of taking a drop of water out of the ocean and concluding the Earth had no fresh water to sustain humans.

Yes, but how many galaxies have we listened to, and how many solar systems would those galaxies collectively represent. I understand we're not taking a cosmic census, but we've been listening for a radio "carrier signal" for a LONG time, and heard nothing.

And again, what I am gleaning from astronomists and biologists is that the combination of cosmic and terrestrial events necessary for life to occur, then develop into intelligent life, may be much more unlikely than we already knew. We do not know how a DNA strand could have spontaneously occurred, which of course would be necessary in order for life to be created. That event is so unlikely (DNA is not a chemically "simple" thing) that we cannot even theorize how it might have happened. But now, some folks are beginning to wonder how likely, given a spontaneously-emerged DNA strand, it will evolve into a mouse, let alone a planet of sentient humans.

I don't know. And it doesn't matter to me. I'm just saying that whereas twenty years ago the folks promoting the idea of life on other planets could sneer down their noses at doubters......today, science is wondering that question anew.