Editing 2283: Exa-Exabyte
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by 10 EXA-EXABYTES OF APPLES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
+ | Has Randall taken a break from his [[:Category: COVID-19|COVID-19 series]]? Or is this another allusion to the biology and complexity behind the Corona outbreak? | ||
− | This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 10 | + | This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 10^18 bytes, while an "exa-exabyte"—not a real word but one that makes sense if you apply the principles of {{w|Metric prefix|metric prefixes}}—is 10^36 bytes. 10^36 is properly given the name undecillion (in short scale, and sextillion in long scale). According to a 2015 article by ''The New York Times'', researchers estimate that there are [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html 50 trillion trillion trillion] DNA {{w|base pair}}s on Earth—5 * 10^37 "bytes" of data. This is a similar number to [[Miss Lenhart]]'s claim of 10 exa-exabytes—1 * 10^37 bytes. |
− | According to [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html | ||
− | These numbers are larger than most people can imagine. Even much smaller numbers such as a billion (10 | + | These numbers are larger than most people can imagine. Even much smaller numbers such as a billion (10^9) or a trillion (10^12) are hard to imagine.{{Citation needed}} For instance: |
* 1 billion seconds is equal to 31.7 years; 1 trillion seconds is equal to 31,688.74 years. | * 1 billion seconds is equal to 31.7 years; 1 trillion seconds is equal to 31,688.74 years. | ||
− | * [https://medium.com/@alecmuffett/a-billion-grains-of-rice-91202220e10e 1 billion grains of rice] | + | * [https://medium.com/@alecmuffett/a-billion-grains-of-rice-91202220e10e 1 billion grains of rice] weighs approximately 34,447 lb (15,625 kg). |
− | Wikipedia has an article on the {{w|exabyte}} and one on large numbers which describes | + | Wikipedia has an article on the {{w|exabyte}} and one on large numbers which describes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(numbers)#1018 various things close to 10^18]. |
− | + | [https://abc7news.com/science/possibly-habitable-planet-found-100-light-years-away/5821548/ TOI 700 d], a potentially habitable Earth-like {{w|exoplanet}} is 100 light years away, which is about 10^18 meters. | |
− | [[ | + | [[Megan]] trivializes the problem away by describing an exabyte as 10 apples, with "18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above", representing the notation 10^18 using apples for digits. This is entirely unhelpful, as apples, whatever their position, don't represent exponents, and this causes Miss Lenhart to yell out "No!" in frustration. The title text further trivializes the problem of visualizing large numbers by suggesting that you can visualize 10^18 as a number by simply visualizing the similar-looking number of 10^13 with some extra lines drawn to turn the 3 into an 8. Changes in exponents can cause huge changes in the value shown, and this is no exception: Changing that 3 into an 8 changes the value by a factor of 100,000. |
− | + | Randall has previously discussed the difficulty of large numbers in [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion]] and [[558: 1000 Times]]. | |
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− | Randall has previously discussed the difficulty of large numbers in [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion]] | ||
[[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is. | [[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is. | ||
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:Miss Lenhart: '''''No!''''' | :Miss Lenhart: '''''No!''''' | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category: Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]] | [[Category: Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]] | ||
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category: Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category: Biology]] | [[Category: Biology]] |