Time in powers of ten : natural phenomena and their timescales /
Hooft, G. 'tauthor.
Vandoren, S.(Stefan),author.
Eisberg-'t Hooft, Saskia,author.
Singapore : World Scientific Publishing Company,
2014.
In this richly illustrated book, Nobel Laureate Gerard 't Hooft and Theoretical Physicist Stefan Vandoren describe the enormous diversity of natural phenomena that take place at different time scales. In the tradition of the bestseller Powers of Ten, the authors zoom in and out in time, each step with a factor of ten. Starting from one second, time scales are enlarged until processes are reached that take much longer than the age of the universe. After the largest possible eternities, the reader is treated to the shortest and fastest phenomena known. Then the authors increase with powers of t.
Print version record.
PART I; PART II; Chapter 33 10-15 seconds = 1 femtosecond; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Natural Phenomena and Their Timescales; Introduction; Structure of the Book; Process; Recurring Themes; Borders; Measuring Time; Tradition; Large and Small Numbers; Chapter 1 100 seconds = 1 second; 1 second; Chapter 2 101 seconds = 10 seconds; 9.58 seconds World record, men's 100 meter sprint (2014); 10.18 secondsThe time it takes to free fall from a height of 508m; Chapter 3 102 seconds = 100 seconds = 1 minute, 40 seconds; 100 seconds.
101.04 seconds World record men's 1,500 meters speed skating on ice102 seconds World record men's 200m freestyle; Chapter 4 103 seconds = 1,000 seconds = 16 minutes, 40 seconds; 1,026 seconds = 1.026 × 103 seconds =17.1 minutes The fastest time on the Four Miles of Groningen; 1,339 seconds = 22.32 minutes The world record for static apnea -- holding your breath; Chapter 5 104 seconds = 10,000 seconds = 2.78 hours; 3,600 seconds = 0.36 × 104 seconds = 1 hour; 10,800 seconds = 3 hours Blooming time of the Flower-of-an-Hour (Hibiscus trionum).
10,800 seconds = 3 hours The duration of a flight by Concorde from London or Paris to New YorkChapter 6 105 seconds = 100,000 seconds = 1.16 days = 27.78 hours; 86,400 seconds = 24 hours Lifetime of a mayfly, also known in other languages as the 'one-day fly'; 144,000 seconds = 40 hours For many of us, the duration of a working week; Chapter 7 106 seconds = 1,000,000 = 1 million seconds = 11.57 days = 1.65 weeks; 11 days The difference between a lunar year and a solar year; 13 days Duration of the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War.
Chapter 8 106.41 seconds = 2,592,000 seconds = 30 days H"1 monthOne month and six days The duration of the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, by Christopher Columbus; Chapter 9 107 seconds = 10 million seconds = 115.74 days = 3.86 months; 115 days The average gestation period of pigs; Chapter 10 108 seconds = 100 million seconds = 3.17 years; Four years An Olympiad, the period between two Olympic Games; Chapter 11 109 seconds = 1 billion seconds = 31.7 years; 30 years The Thirty Years' War started in 1618 and ended in 1648; 32 yearsThe tenure of Pope Pius IX.
Chapter 12 1010 seconds = 10 billion seconds = 317 years335 years The duration of the war between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly, from 1651 to 1986; 400 to 500 yearsThe duration of the 'short ice age'; Chapter 13 1011 seconds = 100 billion seconds = 3,171 years; 4,600 years The oldest pyramids; 4,845 years The age of the oldest living treeas of 2014; 5,000 Years Dolmens in Northern Europe; Chapter 14 1012 seconds = 1 trillion seconds = 31,710 years; Chapter 15 1013 seconds = 1013 trillion seconds = 317,098 years; 479,452 years Traffic congestion per year in the United States.
Chapter 16 1014 seconds = 100 trillion seconds = 3.17 million years.
In this richly illustrated book, Nobel Laureate Gerard 't Hooft and Theoretical Physicist Stefan Vandoren describe the enormous diversity of natural phenomena that take place at different time scales. In the tradition of the bestseller Powers of Ten, the authors zoom in and out in time, each step with a factor of ten. Starting from one second, time scales are enlarged until processes are reached that take much longer than the age of the universe. After the largest possible eternities, the reader is treated to the shortest and fastest phenomena known. Then the authors increase with powers of t.
Time.
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Time.
Time in Powers of Ten : Natural Phenomena and Their Timescales.
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