[OT] Stars versus sand grains
From: Terry Pinnell (terrypinDELETE_at_THESEdial.pipex.com)
Date: 06/09/04
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Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 08:24:52 +0100
During one morning of a brief holiday last week I walked a few miles
along a Dutch beach of fine sand. Not for the first time I was musing
about the familiar comparison that there are more stars in the
universe than the number of grains of sand on the Earth. I reckon a
handful of sand must contain several million grains (10^6 grains of
say 1 mm diameter even in a 1 cm cube). So, even confining my gaze to
that short stretch of beach, the numbers quickly become very hard to
handle. Extrapolating to all beaches and deserts across the planet,
they become effectively incomprehensible to me.
But my curiosity is aroused now. Some googling turned up several
estimates of the star number, ranging from roughly 10^19 to 10^24.
Anyone here know of a latest 'best estimate' please? And an estimate
for the sand number?
-- Terry, West Sussex, UK
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