Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-05-18
OF
a Gunner for Dull Heads and a Puz.
zle for Clear Ones.

AAS
New Orleans Times Democrat.
There is romance in numbers,-the
romance Of enormity! Americans cal
culate, it must be remembered, after
the French fashion. With US q billion
is not, as with the English, a million OF
millions, but simplya thousand millions;
and a trillion is not q billion of (English)
billions but simply a thousand billions.
The English reckoning is simply terrific
when we start upward frot billions
millions of millions) to trilliops, quad
rillions, quaintillions, sextillions, septil-
tons, octilllons, etc. So vast are these
English numbers that they are prac-
tlcally Understanding. They can
not be applied even to the calculations
of astronomical distances.
And these distances daze human under
standing. Twelve degrees east of Alpha
Capricorn there IS nebula,-bright, fiat,
ring-shaped,-which is generally be-
iieved to be q solar system in progress
OF formations vast whirl of iDcande-
scent gas gradually shaping itself into
suns and worlds. 1t is q spark I'D any
but the most powerful microscopes, yet
it is 264 billion times lin American num-
bersl larger than Jul sun. And our sun
is ,2S3, 700 times larger than this world.
Therefore the nebula itself is 1888 quad
rillion S96 trillion 500 billion larger
than the earth.
Now these numbers seem enough to
beWllder any mind but they are as
nothing to numbers which have been al
ready used. Flammarion, the astrono-
mer, makes curious mention of the
hluhpcf r1,nohar AVN oa1o,,l,<, L., -
tai man. It was NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
billions, t%illions, sextillions, septillions'
octilllons, nonillions, undecillions. CAL
culation might indeed 60 much further
to duodecillions, tredecillions, etc.
Tredecillions carries us only to the
thirteenth numerical type from millions
centlllions would carry us to the hund-
redth. Now our inquiring subscriber
may comprehend the monstrcsity of a
centillion.
But to return to the modest undecil.
lion. 1t has been calculated by a French
man that the tiny sum of five confines,
banked at the birth Of Jesus Christ
would have accumulated at compound
interest ty this time to the amount
OF 342 ,653 ,24S ,699, 200, 900. O0O, 0OO, 900, 600.
100000 900 francs!-or 342 undecilIons,
653 decillions, 24S nonilliors. 500 septil.
mons OF francs. And please remember
this is only the simple and modest
French system Of acknowledgements the
tremendous English system.
Now how much money does the
amount represent? If all the mountain
ranges in the world were converted into
diamonds, they would not represent
such a value; nor could all the railroad
OF the globe convey such d sum If the
earth itself were turned into one solid
mass OF gold-in which case j. would
weigh 3 IL times more than at present.
its value in French money would no,
even approach undecilIions; it would be
only 69,9lO,SO 500 ,0O0, O00, 600 ,OOO, OOO--cr IS
sextillions. $40 quintillions, 500 ouadril-
lions of francs. If an ingot of cold as
big as the world were to fall from heaven
every minute for $500 years, it would
require all those in lots to pay that sun
Of undecillions. Even in astronomy nm.
decillions are not used. Probably tbs
life of suns does not reach nearly 90 on.
traordinary a figure in years.