sense of scale

[kengr]

I was reading something and hit a passage where a character said that it was the *billionth* time they'd thought something.

I knew that was wrong, but wanted to check just how wrong. so I worked out how long a billion seconds would be.

That led to this...

1 second = 1 sec
1 kilosecond = 1000 sec = 1e3 sec = 16 min 40 sec
1 megasecond = 1,000,00 sec = 1e6 sec = ~11.6 days
1 gigasecond = 1,000,000,000 sec = 1e9 sec = ~ 31.7 years
1 terasecond = 1e12 sec = ~31,688.7 years
1 petasecond = 1e15 sec = ~ 32 million years = ~ 32 megayears
1 exasecond = 1e18 sec = ~ 32 billion years = ~32 gigayears = ~ twice the current age of the universe!
1 zettasecond = 1e21 sec = ~ 32 trillion years = ~ 32 terayears
1 yottasecond = 1e24 sec = ~ 32 quadrillion years = ~ 32 petayears

Comments

[seawasp]

yes, but the speed of thought is vastly beyond that of the physical, per Doc Smith, thus you could think something a billion times between getting up and having breakfast!

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

Yes. Kilosecond, etc.

There are obvious advantages of using such measurements in settings where Earth, and the Solar System as a whole, are distant memories.