The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1893-07-27
AN ENGLISH BILLION.
FEW APPRECIATE THE REAL sleNIFl-
CANOE OF THE WORD.

the Reader Comprehension OF the Enor-
nifty Of an Expression.
II would be curious to know how
many Of your readers have brought fully
home to their inner consciousness the
real significance of that little word "bil-
hon," which we have SO often seen used
In your columns There are indeed few
intellects that can fairly grasp it and d.
gest 1t as q whole, and there are doubt
less many thousands who cannot appre-
ciate Its true worth, even when reduced
TO fragments for more easy assimilation.
Its arithmetical symbol is simple and
without much pretention. There are
no large 6gures-just a modest l fol-
lowed by dozen ciphers, and that is all.
Let us briefly take glance at it as q
measure Of time, distance and weight.
As measure of time would take one
second as the unit and carry myself in
thought through the lapse Of ages back
to the first day Of the year Of our era,
remembering that in all those years we
have 1876 days and in every day just &c.
400 seconds Of time Hence, in return
ing In thought back again to this year Of
grace, one might have supposed that Il,
000, 900, 000. 900 of seconds had long since
elapsed, but this is not So We have not
even passed one-sixteenth of that num-
Der in all these long eventful years, forit
takes just 81 ,6s7 years II days % hours
45 minutes and s seconds to constitute
1000, 000, 000, 900 seconds of time
Ia aacu ~, a f<av 20, Ir,prx ,,,,I n, fla
cognixance Of the human eye a billion
objects Of any kind. Let us try in imag-
nation to arrange this number for in
spection, and for this purpose would Sc
lect Q sovereign as a familiar object
Let rs put one on the ground and pile
upon 1t as many as will reach 20 feet in
height Then let us place numbers of
similar columns in close contact, form
ing straight line and making a sort Of
wall 20 feet high. showing only the thin
edges Of the coin
Imagine two such walls running par
allel to each other and forming, as it
were. long street We must then keep
on extending these walls for miles, nay,
hundreds of miles, and still we shall be
far short Of the required number. And
It Ii not until we have extended our
imaginary street to distance of 1885,
miles that we shall have presented for
inspection our l 900, 900 600, 900 Of coins.
Or in lieu of this arrangement we
may place them fat upon the ground,
forming one continuous line like long
golden chain with every link in close
contact. But to do this we must pass
over land and sea, mountain and valley,
desert and plain, crossing the equator and
returning around the southern hemi-
sphere, through the trackless ocean, re-
trace our way again across the equator,
then still on and on until we again ar
rive at our starting point, and when we
have thus passed a golden chain around
tho huge bulk Of the earth we shall be
but at the beginning of our task. We
must drag this imaginary chain no less
763 times around the globe.
II we can further imagine all those
rows Of links laid closely side by side
and every one in contact with its neigh
Dor, we shall have formed golden band
around the globe just SO feet 9 inches
wide and this will represent our 1,0O0,-
900, 000, 900 of coins Such chain, if laid
In straight line, would reach a fraction
over 1888, 445 miles, the weight Of
which, II estimated at one-fourth ounce
each sovereign, would be e,975,447 tons
and would require for their transport no
less than 1895 ships, each with full
cargo Of 5000 tons. Even then there
would be residue of 447 tons. repre-
senting "a ,081, 800 sovereigns
For q measure Of height let us take
much smaller unit as our measuring rod.
The sheets Of paper on which The Times
q printed, II laid out fat and firmly
pressed together as in well bound
book, would represent measure Of
about one-three hundred and thirty
third Of an inch in thickness. Let us
zee how high dense pile formed by
billion of these thin paper leaves would
reach We must in imagination pile
them vertically upward, by degrees
reaching to the height of our tallest
cpires, and passing these the pile must
still grow higher, topping the Alps and
Andes and the highest peaks of the Him
alayas, and shooting up from thence
through the feecy clouds pass beyond
the confines of our attenuated atmos-
phere and leap up into the blue ether
with which the universe is filled, stand
ing proudly up far beyond the reach Of
al terrestrial things-still pile on your
thousands and millions of thin leaves,
Tor we are only beginning to rear the
mighty mass. Add millions on millions
Of sheets and thousands of miles on
these, and still the number will lack its
due amount.
Let ~ pause to look at the neat plowed
edges Of the book before us. See how
closely lie those thin fakes Of paper; how
many there are in the mere width of a
span, and then turn our eyes in imagina-
ton upward to our mighty column of
accumulated sheets. It now contains its
appointed number, and our 200 ,000, 900,
900 Of sheets Of The Times superimposed
upon each other and pressed into com.
pact mass has reached an altitude Of A..
e48 milesl
Those who have taken the trouble to
follow me thus far viii, think, agree
with me that 1000, 00O, 900 900 is fearful
thing, and that few can appreciate its
real value. As for qnadrillions and tril-
Lions, they are simply words, mere words,
wholly incapable Of adequately impress
ing themselves on the human intellect
Sir Henry Bessemer in London Times
Like Father, Like Son.
This u nay youngest boy, Mr.. Cyni