Big Board of our little universeMain menuSkip to contentHome1. Table of Contents2. About3. IndexConcepts & ParametersEDITOR’S NOTE:POSTED  ON APRIL 14, 2013Written by Bruce CamberUpdated: October 2013____________________________________________________________________Sometimes the most simple concepts elude us.Would you agree that two of the most simple parameters of science and mathematics are:(1) smallest-to-largest and (2) multiplying-and-dividing by-2?Then, why, as a well-educated general public, do we not know the smallest and largest measurement of a length?  To remedy that situation, let us first establish the smallest and the largest lengths. Then let us multiply the smallest by 2, and each result by 2, until we reach the largest length.  It may sound simple, albeit a bit tedious, but the process has many surprises as we begin to explore this simple exponential notation of our seemingly complex universe.Smallest.  We will assume that Max Planck was right in 1900 when he calculated the Planck Length. Certainly it is well-worth the time to study its derivation; however, for this discussion, take it as a given that the Planck length is the smallest unit of measurement of a length.The number is 1.61619926 × 10-35 meters.Largest. The largest measurement of length is an on-going research effort; and although there are many different conclusions, there is a general direction and concurrence within the scientific community. Among the more recent calculations, we turned to the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys (SDSS-III), particularly her Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS)  measurements from March 2012 to establish a working range from the smallest-to-the-largest lengths. We are simply taking it as a given that the SDSS BOSS measurement is close enough. They have confirmed earlier statements, i.e. “The universe is 13.75 billion years old.” Others are as high as 13.798.You would think it is a rather straightforward conversion, yet, even those calculations (convert years to a length) are diverse.With their Scale of the Universe Cary Huang suggest 9.3×1026 meters (93 trillion light years). Paul Halpern, physics professor and author of the book, Edge of the Universe: Voyage to the Cosmic Horizon and Beyond, told me (via email) that a better figure is 4.3×1026 m.Yet, that end figure is not as important as the starting figure; it just helps to know when we are getting close to it.
Multiplying by 2.  To create a simple relation between everything in the universe, take the Planck Length and multiply it by two, then continue multiplying each result by 2 until we are out to that largest measurement. It is a natural progression much like the unfolding of life within cellular division.
So, based on their calculations, how many times will we multiply by 2 to go from the smallest to the largest measurement of lengths in the universe?
That process is called base-2 exponential notation and the answers are quite surprising:
NASA physicist