Understanding the Most Extreme Numbers in the Universe

Humans are great at understanding medium-sized things, like how far the supermarket is from your house, or how to find the bathroom in the dark. But imagining distances in light-years is a lot harder -- so you’ll have to use a trick or two.

Hosted by: Hank Green
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[alysaleh]

Mr. Green i do not know if you are reading this or not but i want to tell you that you are the greatest teacher ever and i am so thankful that people like you exist in the world

[JeraPerthro]

This is why I love Hank Green.  He helps me understand things and enjoy doing so.

[thulyblu]

I like light travel time as a measure.
1 millisecond (e.g. light period during strobe light) - 300 km (190 miles)
1 second - Distance earth-moon (approximately)
8 minutes - Distance earth-sun (approximately)
4 years - Distance to closest star to the sun (approximately)

[Lelentos]

The biggest number in the universe is my student loan debt.

[InclusiveInsider]

0:38 to 0:42

This guy just turned into enimem xD

[kiethjorgenson]

"Real, Actual, Nothing." Love You Hank! Real, Actual, Love What You Do and Stand For.

[Dexios_Divine]

Brain no want think big count, keep thing tiny

[ccf_]

I like your sense of humor and your inflexions

[dirfgiS]

Wow, amazing how big it really is. Keep it up Hank and the rest!

[kevind]

My mental map doesn't get automatic updates and version 1.0 is way outdated.

[Youcanscienceit]

The ad came up right when Hank said, "More than a billion miles across."

Brisket done right - "more than a billion miles across."

[drewbq]

Hank you never cease to make me laugh 😂😂 love this guy

[SpotTiger]

Mr. Paris! Take us to Warp 9! The sooner we get there, the better! 😁

[rahulgandhi]

I'm surprised no-ones added amount of times mum thinks you can pause online game.

[HumblCrewWinters]

You guys are awesome, keep it coming!

[StalePhish]

If you want more on this topic, there is a TV show called "The Universe: Collection" which has an episode called "How Big, How Far, How Fast", which is basically this but expanded out to 45 minutes and has great examples including size of the solar system. It's available on Netflix!

[jamessmith]

Although I only got a C in GCSE maths at school I love thinking about big numbers in distances like this. Ever since I asked my mum what was "outside space" at like age 5 I have been obsessed with it. She could not give me an answer by the way, just "they think it goes on forever". I read into it more as I got older! Anyway it really helps keep things in perspective when life is sometimes tough to think how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things.

[-aaa-aaa]

Oooh, I'm here before the thumbnail.
Quick people from the near future, describe to me the thumbnail.

[reececrump]

im glad the scientific individuals down at scishow space made this video. ive been thinking about how people just cannot comprhend large numbers for a while, but I always thought that a real scientist would say "of course people can comprhend them, people are the ones who measured them" and just blow brush away what I was trying to convey. its nice to know that some smart people who's oppions you repect have considered some of the same ideas as you.

[BrianAThomas]

One of my favorites is the distance to the moon. While the moon is at it's furthest, it's far enough to support all the other planets in between the Earth and the Moon. So show somebody how small the Earth is to Jupiter and the others, and then notice how they all fit between the Earth and the Moon and mind is blown.