Powers of Ten
Introduction:
It’s sometimes hard to imagine how big the universe is compared to the objects around us that we understand. The following activity will help you to do so.
Activity:
Go to http://htwins.net/scale2/. If you don’t have flash, go to http://www.powersof10.com/film and watch the video. Play around with the slider until you understand what it is depicting before answering the reflection questions below.
Reflection:
1) Zoom out to the Milky Way galaxy and record the exponent (the x in 10x) that is shown.
The Milky Way is on the order of 1021 meters.
2) Now zoom in until you are focused on objects whose size is on the order of the negative of the exponent you found for the Milky Way galaxy (i.e. if the Milky Way is 10x, zoom in on objects that are at 10-x). Make a list below of what you see there (or, if nothing is there, a list of the things nearby). Do a little research and describe the things you find. All of this means that the galaxy is as many times bigger than you as you are than the things on the list!
At 10-21 m, we find quarks, which are particles so small that they make up the tiny particles that make up atoms. We are
3) How many times bigger than the Milky Way galaxy is the entire universe?
The universe is at 1027 meters, which is 106 times bigger than the Milky Way.
4) How many times bigger than a single white blood cell are you?
A white blood cell is on the order of 10-5 m, which is 105 (or 10,000) times smaller than a human.
5) Which of (3) and (4) displays the biggest difference?
This means that for humans to have the same ratio of size (universe:galaxy = human:white blood cell), humans would have to be 10 times larger than they currently are.