Example of the size of the IPv6 address space Here is one visualization Imagine that the entire range of IPv4 address 232 is represented by a typical human hair having a mean diameter of 70 m There is a reference given on the human hair article which uses 70 to 80 m as a typical experimental value Now suppose we represent the size of the IPv6 address space in the same manner Since there are 2128 addresses we can see quickly that our example requires a distance of 296 x 70 m This is an enormously long distance It is so long in fact that we need to convert it to light years for convenience s sake Assume 586 000 000 light years This is 10 times farther than it is to the center of the Virgo Cluster which is nearby galaxy cluster So if IPv4 is a hair on your head then IPv6 is tantamount to the distance traveled by light in 586 million years