Category Archives: Science

Size Does Matter

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Even though I’ve been told otherwise, I have a feeling size really does matter. OK, people, get your minds out of my pants. I’m talking about our size in relation to everything else in the universe, and I’ve found pretty much the coolest visualization showing how big — or small — we are compared to everything around us.

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Just point your Web browser to The Scale of the Universe and zoom in to see the smallest object in the universe (quantum foam with a Planck length of 10-35m), or out to see the estimated size of the universe (1026x9.3m).

Get this: The largest known star in the universe? VY Canis Majoris at 1012x3m is big enough to fill most of the distance between our sun and Pluto. That’s frakking huge. Zoom in and you’ll see that your eye lid is only slightly thicker than a single salt crystal, but that’s still substantially thicker than a human hair.

OK, enough talk. Go check out The Scale of the Universe. And why does everybody keep looking at my pants?

Periodic Table of Elements, But Cooler

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Our ability to categorize and catalog our surroundings is pretty amazing, and the periodic table of the elements is one of the best examples of how we’ve used those traits to add structure to the chaos that surrounds us. Imagine my delight when a friend gave me what I consider to be the coolest periodic table I’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s on the wall in my office so I can check it out every day.

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The PTE Charles gave me is actually a photographic table, which adds the extra coolness of being able to see the elements instead of just referencing their properties. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that elements like Rutherfordium, Meitnerium and Einsteinium actually look like real people. Amazing!

You can pick up your own photographic PTE at periodictable.com. It’s available as posters, 3D lenticular posters, place mats, and decks of playing cards.