At-10-uated Perspective
Tense and tender at the same time, I tentatively give you 10 out of 10 (or 16):
10^-15 meters is the smallest limit of our visibility, when we can see the movements of quarks, the subatomic particles that make up protons and neutrons
At 1 x 10^-13 meters, we can see protons and neutrons in a cell's nucleus
At 10^-10 meters, we can view the outer electrons of the nucleus. This is also called 1 angstrom, and it is used for the measurement of the wavelengths of light
10^-9 meters is the nanometer, the length where we can see the carbon-hydrogen bonds of the DNA helix
At 10^-7 meters, we can see the double helix structure of DNA
10^-6 meters is the micrometer, about the size of a cell's nucleus
10^-3 meters is the millimeter, about the width of a dime or the length of a gnat
10^-2 meters is the handy centimeter, the basic unit of measurement for small objects
10^0 meter is the meter, the basic unit of length for the metric system. It is also the distance a man can run in 10 seconds
10^3 meter is the kilometer, the basic unit for driving distances and the distance a racecar can drive in 10 seconds
10^5 meters is the distance an orbiting satellite covers in 10 seconds
At 10^7 meters away from the surface of the Earth, we can see the whole globe of the planet
At 10^11 meters away from the surface of the Earth, we can see the Sun and all of the inner solar system
At 10^13 meters away from the surface of the Earth, we can see whole the solar system, including the Kuiper Belt
10^16 meters equals 1 light-year, a basic unit of astronomical distance
At 10^21 meters (100,000 light-years) away from the surface of the Earth, we can see the whole Milky Way galaxy
Ten-cue for your a10tion.
#numbers #challenge #power of ten #math