Saturday, July 2, 2011

Our Infinitesimal Human Life

The following is an extension of my thought after I casually mentioned ‘No Men Should Play God’ which was posted into Ir. Lau Onn Tai’s blog at:


http://taionn.blogspot.com/2011/06/artificial-organ-regrowth-for-eternal.html


Let us ponder further

Let us take 100 years as the maximum life span of a human being.


A 100 years in a human life there are: 100 years x 365.25 days in a Solar Year x 24 hours in a day x 60 minutes in an hour x 60 seconds in a minute = 3 155 760 000 seconds.


The age of the Observable Universe is about 13. 7 billion years old. This was according to Hubble’s law which was based on spectral red shift measurements.



However more recent measurements suggest it could be as old as 20 billion (20 x 109) years.


Let us take the latest estimate and assume it to be 20 x 10 9 years old or 6.31152 x 10 17 seconds. Let us then take 3 155 760 000 seconds (100 years) be the life span of a human being.


If 20 x 10 9 years was to be super-compressed into a 24 hour day, then 100 years has also to be super-compressed into just 3 155 760 000 seconds ÷( 20 x 10 9 x 365.25 x 24 x 60 x 60 or 6.31152 x 10 17 seconds) = 5 x 10 -9 second .


The speed of light is 299792458 ms -1 (299792.458 km hr – 1 )


Thus in 5 x 10 -9 second there is only sufficient time for light to travel to 1.49896229 meters


According to physicist Niels Bohr, electrons orbit only at certain distances from the nucleus, depending on their energy level. The simplest atom is the hydrogen with just a single electron orbiting around its nucleus and its smallest possible orbit, with the lowest energy level is called the Bohr radius.


Thus the Bohr radius of a hydrogen atom has a value of 5.2917720859(36) × 10−11 m or approximately 1.058354417 x 10-10 m in diameter.


This is the most likely the position of the electron from its nucleus when it is at 0 Kelvin and unexcited.


This means it will take 1.49896229 meters ÷ 1.058354417 x 10-10 m (diameter of diameter of a hydrogen atom) = 1.4 x 1010 (14 billion) hydrogen atoms lined up side-by-side for light to cross them in that diminutive 5 x 10-9 (5 billionth) of a second.


The mass of 14 billion hydrogen atoms


One hydrogen atom has a mass of 1.66 x 10-27 kg
Therefore 1.4 x 10 10 hydrogen atoms will have a mass of 2.32 x 10-17 kg


We can also calculate the mass of 14 billion hydrogen atoms in another way by applying Avogadro's number, which is approximately 6.022×1023 (1 mole).

Example: 1.00 grams H × (6.02 × 1023) / 1.01 grams (atomic mass of hydrogen) = 5.96 × 1023 atoms of hydrogen

Therefore 1.4 x 1010 hydrogen atoms
= Y (6.02 x 10 23) / 1.01 grams = 1.4 x 10 10 atoms

Where Y is the weight of hydrogen atoms


If y (6.02 x 10 23) = 1.01 x 1.4 x 10 10
Therefore y = 1.01 x 1.4 x 10 10 / (6.02 x 10 23) = 2.348837 x 10-14 gm or 2.34 x 10-17 kg


Total Mass of the Observable Universe:


The mass of for all the atoms in the observable universe is estimated to be 1.53×1053 kg


If this mass can be scaled down like time proportionally from 20 billion years into a 24 hour time scale, it means that all the mass in the observable universe is only 1.53 x 10 53 kg / (20 x 109 x 365.25 x 24 x 60 x60) = 1.53 x 10 53 / 6.31152 1017

= 2.424 x 10 35 kg

That means we will weigh only 2.34 x 10-17 kg or 0.000 000 000 000 000 0234 kg in comparison.


Fancy that! That’s life!


Unfortunately that is all the infinitesimal short time we have on Earth. Regrettably that represents the life span of a human on Earth if the age of the Universe at 20 x 10 9 (20 billion) years were to be telescoped down to a 24 hour day for comparison.


Isn’t that amazing? Even my simple mathematics here does not lie.


Quote (Bible): Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. ... It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth

(James 4:14)


Quote (William Shakespeare): To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing

(Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28)


- ju-boo lim

You Are Welcome Ir. CK Cheong

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