Universal Scale

[REASON]

WOW! :cup: That's a lot for me to take in, Craig. I'm going to have to ponder that for a while. These kinds of numbers are truly hard for me to fathom. I'm still reeling from modest's explanation that I am larger compared to a plank length than the entire universe compared to me.

 

But it does sound like you are saying that we exist closer to the cold end of the temperature spectrum. Well, that's assuming it is proper to even consider that there is an end. :eek:

 

How can one perceive of something infinitely hot or cold? I guess that's why you say that a discussion of this nature starts to drift into philosophy.

 

Pretty cool stuff to think about, I must say.

[LaurieAG]

Where measurements of photons (or single photons) are made over great distances through particles that would not be considered very dense, and are then scaled down to our own 'scale', they should scale in proportion to more dense (or even solid) objects over smaller distances (in scale) and provide similar observational data.

 

I read a new article in the New Scientist that talked about astrophysical Methane Mazers. Wiki describes them in more detail.

 

Astrophysical maser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Discrete Transition Energy

Like a laser, the emission from a maser is stimulated (or seeded) and monochromatic, having the frequency corresponding to the energy difference between two quantum-mechanical energy levels of the species in the gain medium which have been pumped into a non-thermal population distribution. However, naturally occurring masers lack the resonant cavity engineered for terrestrial laboratory masers. Indeed, the emission from an astrophysical maser is due to a single pass through the gain medium and therefore generally lacks the spatial coherence and mode purity expected of laboratory instruments.

[REASON]

I was reading another thread, I think it was Doctordick's, and I thought of another possible Universal Scale, but since it's related to time, it probably falls under GR or something.

 

What I'm thinking of is the *rate* of time. At one end of the spectrum are objects that move or change at an increasingly slow rate of time, and at the other end, objects that are moving or changing at increasingly fast rates of speed.

 

This is a bit difficult to describe, but I'll try. I have often thought of Geology and considered how slowly it functions in nature. Gradual and slow processes that take tremendous amounts of time for the effects to be revealed. It is happening at a pace that relative to mine, is too slow to recognize that anything is even happening. You can only really detect the effects.

 

I've thought about what it would be like if time could be sped up at a rate I am familiar with so I could see the changes happening more rapidly. Animations have become much better at reinacting it, but of course they are nothing like the real thing would be. Imagine the sound genrerated by two crustal plates scraping against one another at a visible rate of speed we can relate to. Or consider the vibration.

 

Even clouds seem to function in a different realm of time, and I like it when time-lapse photography is used to reveal their transformations at a visible pace. The same goes for slow motion photography, where being able to see things at a slower rate is better because things that are moving or changing very rapidly can be difficult to see as well. An airplane propeller will seem to disappear when it is cranked up to full speed. Would we be able to see anything at all if it were going five times as fast?

 

So in the universe of slow rates of change and fast rates of change, where do our normal everyday movements rank on the scale?

 

Can something like that even be calculated?

[LaurieAG]

Even clouds seem to function in a different realm of time, and I like it when time-lapse photography is used to reveal their transformations at a visible pace. The same goes for slow motion photography, where being able to see things at a slower rate is better because things that are moving or changing very rapidly can be difficult to see as well. An airplane propeller will seem to disappear when it is cranked up to full speed. Would we be able to see anything at all if it were going five times as fast?

 

So in the universe of slow rates of change and fast rates of change, where do our normal everyday movements rank on the scale?

 

Can something like that even be calculated?

 

Hi Reason, good point.

 

The propellor is a very good metaphor for how greater scientific accuracy leads to things that might appear 'invisible' to become very clear when the time period is slowed down (due to the fast rate of change of the observations) and the scale is about the same or smaller than our everyday movements.

 

On the other hand things that are much larger than us, like planetary and galactic movements become clearer when the time period is sped up (due to the slow rate of change of the observations).

 

It probably cannot be calculated but our everyday movements scale (EMs) could be represented as fast rate <= EMs < slow rate.

[Pluto]

G'day from the land of ozzzzz

 

The only scale that can be detected is what we are able to see. This does not limit the scale of the universe.

[freeztar]

You simply must check this out, too cool!

 

It's an animated journey from the universe scale all the way down to the atomic scale using various examples along the way.

 

Nikon | Feel Nikon | Universcale

[Pluto]

G'day from the land of ozzzzzzzz

 

Freeztar thank you for the link

Universcale

Nikon | Feel Nikon | Universcale

 

 

As for further scales

This maybe interesting for some.

 

Atlas of the universe

An Atlas of The Universe

 

Biggest map of universe reveals colossal structures

Biggest map of universe reveals colossal structures - space - 15 May 2006 - New Scientist Space

[REASON]

You simply must check this out, too cool!

 

It's an animated journey from the universe scale all the way down to the atomic scale using various examples along the way.

 

Nikon | Feel Nikon | Universcale

 

What a great find Freez. :) Thank you for bringing it to this thread.

 

This is an excellent demonstration of universal scale. I noticed that based on this range, InfiniteNow wasn't too far off with his positioning of humans on the original scale I presented. Left of center. But this only goes to a Femtometer.

 

How much smaller is a plank length again?

[modest]

...But this only goes to a Femtometer.

 

How much smaller is a plank length again?

 

Yup... I was wondering why I have a headache. Then I open this thread :)

 

Seriously though - that is crazy cool freezy. I think, Reason, google's saying a plank length is 10 million trillion times smaller than a femtometer so that 10E19 (or 10 million trillion) planks would fit in a femtometer. Migraine permitting, I'll find a source checkingthat.

 

Very, Very, :hyper: Freezy

 

~modest

[CraigD]

You simply must check this out, too cool!

 

It's an animated journey from the universe scale all the way down to the atomic scale using various examples along the way.

 

Nikon | Feel Nikon | Universcale

If you like this (and who among us hypographers wouldn’t?), you should be aware of the long heritage of similar works, from the Kees Boeke's 1957 photographic and hand-illustrated book, Cosmic View, its 1968 film adaptation “cosmic zoom”, the 1977 film “Powers of Ten”, the 1996 IMAX film “Cosmic Voyage”, and many “enhanced remixes” and variations in many media.

 

Nikon’s Flash entry in the genre is quite cool. I expect and look forward to much more coolness of this kind, written in more and cooler media.

[Pluto]

G'day from the land of ozzzzzz

 

It goes to show us how little we are.

 

Man has come to know his position and size in the universe.

[coldcreation]

I saw this vid along time ago and finally found it.

 

It is a good depiction of the scale of things.

 

Make sure you watch the second half too, and in full screen of course.

 

 

YouTube - Powers of 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBsOeLcUARw

 

 

 

CC

[Pluto]

G'day coldcreation

 

I thought we played that before.

 

Anyway

 

Great video

[REASON]

Here's an excellent little video that was posted on the Astronomy Picture of the Day on 2010 January 20. It's similar to the old Powers of 10 video. It's best viewed full screen with increased resolution.

 

YouTube - The Known Universe by AMNH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U