The Powers of Ten

I recently re-discovered on the web a fascinating video clip that I first saw many years ago. If you have a few minutes, it's worth your time to check it out. There are a number of different versions available on YouTube, with and without narration, but this one is the one I believe to be the original: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html.

It begins with a look at our Milky Way galaxy from a distance of 10 million light years. The image then moves through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you find yourself in an oak tree on the campus of a laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. The image continues to zoom in by powers of ten from a leaf of actual size downward into an increasingly tiny world that reveals the cell walls of the leaf, the nucleus of the cell, chromatin, DNA and finally, the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

I am a very spiritual, if not conventionally religious person. I find it humbling to stand outside at night and gaze up at the immensity of the universe, and to look down and imagine the ever-smaller worlds going about their business at sizes too small for me to comprehend. I don't think there's ever been a short film clip as fascinating as "The Powers of Ten." Take a look, and see if it doesn't give you a feeling of awe and wonder.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo