Wednesday, June 30

Wired's Infoporn

I thought this was interesting.

Know your limits!
5,000,000,000 years Maximum time earth has left.
That's when the sun goes red giant and expands past Earth's orbit.
5.4x10^-44 seconds Shortest possible time.
Any shorter and quantum mechanics can't tell whether events are simultaneous.
15,000,000,000 light years Maximum distance we can see.
The universe is about 15 billion years and - this is light's travel time.
6.4x10^-34 inches Shortest possible distance.
Planck length: any shorter and quantum mechanics can't tell between here and there.
21.7 miles Maximum height of a mountain on Earth.
Uplisft reaches equilibrium with pressure of the base.
1.2x10^-5 inches Minimum size of an actively growing cell.
Free-living cells need room for a full genome, proteins, and guts.
427 feet Maximum height for a tree on earth.
Gravity overcomes surface tension in the plant's circulatory system.
265 Minimum number of protein-coding genes for life.
As seen in the smallest known single-cell organism.
200,000,000 years Maximum age of suboceanic crust.
Older than that it cools, becomes denser, and "subducts" back into magma.
-459.67 degrees F Minimum possible temperature.
Heat is a function of molecular motion, which stops at absolute zero.
210 MPH Maximum wind speed for an Earth hurricane.
A storm can acquire only so much energy from the sea.
.24 second Minimum delay of a signal sent via geosynchronous satellite.
It's light speed up 22,300 miles, and back down.
430,000 megabits/s Maximum speed to record data to magnetic media.
Bits won't flip reliably with a pulse under 2.3 picoseconds.
100 terabits/s Maximum information over optical fiber.
Higher power levels mash signals together.
10⁵¹ operations/s Maximum computational power.
Quantum rules won't let the ideal 1-liter, 1-kilogram laptop crunch data any faster.

***Know your limits!***
5,000,000,000	years	Maximum time earth has left. That's when the sun goes red giant and expands past Earth's orbit.
5.4x10^-44	seconds	Shortest possible time. Any shorter and quantum mechanics can't tell whether events are simultaneous.
15,000,000,000	light years	Maximum distance we can see. The universe is about 15 billion years and - this is light's travel time.
6.4x10^-34	inches	Shortest possible distance. Planck length: any shorter and quantum mechanics can't tell between here and there.
21.7	miles	Maximum height of a mountain on Earth. Uplisft reaches equilibrium with pressure of the base.
1.2x10^-5	inches	Minimum size of an actively growing cell. Free-living cells need room for a full genome, proteins, and guts.
427	feet	Maximum height for a tree on earth. Gravity overcomes surface tension in the plant's circulatory system.
265		Minimum number of protein-coding genes for life. As seen in the smallest known single-cell organism.
200,000,000	years	Maximum age of suboceanic crust. Older than that it cools, becomes denser, and "subducts" back into magma.
-459.67	degrees F	Minimum possible temperature. Heat is a function of molecular motion, which stops at absolute zero.
210	MPH	Maximum wind speed for an Earth hurricane. A storm can acquire only so much energy from the sea.
.24	second	Minimum delay of a signal sent via geosynchronous satellite. It's light speed up 22,300 miles, and back down.
430,000	megabits/s	Maximum speed to record data to magnetic media. Bits won't flip reliably with a pulse under 2.3 picoseconds.
100	terabits/s	Maximum information over optical fiber. Higher power levels mash signals together.
10⁵¹	operations/s	Maximum computational power. Quantum rules won't let the ideal 1-liter, 1-kilogram laptop crunch data any faster.

Interesting. With a limit of 10¹²¹ possible operations, it's still 3.2x10⁶² years of computing at the highest possible computing speed.

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