Josh Wilson finds a new (to me, at least) metaphor that puts the geological time in perspective, and Carel discovers some cool models that place the astronomical size and space in perspective. Humbling and edifying. Good ideas for science teachers.
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...but if you do, I hope it was enjoyable! And edifying, of course. Kind of science that is amenable to experimentation at home.
Did you know the Association for Women in Science and the
Even though discussions of it on the web has generally dwindled (it seems some people just can't bear to watch it anymore), Jurassic Fight Club is still generating a few comments and critiques.
Yes, its the wonderful Heartland / WUWT own-goal over the Chinese translations of HI's Climate Change Reconsidered. I have nothing to add except laughter, so you may as well read
Wilson's comparison still leaves me a little fuzzy as to the tremendous size of the numbers we are talking about. The best description of large numbers that I've seen relates them to seconds. We get things to a human scale - almost.
For example, One million seconds (1,000,000; 1 x 10^6) is 11 days. One billion seconds (1,000,000,000; 1 x 10^9) is 32 years. One trillion seconds (1,000,000,000,000; 1 x 10^12) is 32,000 years.
Thus 4.5 billion years represented by seconds is a bit more than a(maximum)human lifetime. The other lesson here is the the first trillionaire is going to have an awful lot of money.
FMW