The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-03-16
so 7o
vAsrNess or NUMBERS.


Interesting Comparisons.
Although the words milliard and billion
nre known by name Co almost every one,
yet the significance of the numbers 30 eX-
pressed is hy far NOT So distinct and IA
miliur 10 many rs the meanings Of the
smaller numbers. For example 81 the
breadth Of "a street Is represented by
100000 units, 1000. OOO, 600 Of such
units would give a distance cqaal % that
from Hamburg TO san Francisco. II this
Is not remembered, We are apt to get very
erroneous impressions, especially II nstrU-
uOmiCd phenomena. A- our earth meas
ures In its greatest circumference only
about 20, 900 miles. while the planets aie
distant from the earth aud from each other
spaces varying from o, 600 600 60 ,G0O.-
600 600 miles. accordingly most 0f the dis
tances which confront us on the earth are
20 be regarded az vauishingly small when
compared with the distances which con
front Us in the planetary system. On the
other hand, the nearest fixed stars have
distances from the earth, and consequent
ly from any point in our planetary system,
M great ~ from - 600 600 600 20 & 500
0OO. 600. 600 miles. For example, Sirius is
SO 600, 600. 600 miles distant. Consequent
ly, rs in the consideration Of the distances
Of fixed stars, we have 60 deal with bill
lions, while in the case Of planetary dis
tances we only deal with millions Of miles.
Also, all the distances Of the planets from
one another must he regarded a. vanish
iugly small when compared with the dis
tances which confront us in the realm Of
the fixed stars In other words, viewed
from Sirius, not only the earth or sun. but
our whole planetary system itself would
appear as an indefinitely faint point OF
light, exactly rs Sirius appears to rs as a
luminous point.
The reader will readily appreciate that
the number billion is generally conceived
too small when we tell him that n billion
seconds have not elapsed since the origin
Of the human species, reckoning the age
Of humanity ut 30, 600 years It will also
seem hardly credible that billion new
American % cent pieces, placed one on
top of another, would reach an altitude OF
over l 200, 900 miles--that il to say, would
form n cylindrical pile over four times a.
high a. the moon Is from the earth
The fact that the results Of modern exact
science first required of language the for
nation Of names for large numbers might
lead us to believe that the people Of early
time never made use Of very large numer-
zeal statements. But this is not the case.
More than 1000 years ago there lived
people who, from pure motives Of amuse-
Iltilbf fAtltlSt'l liltlT lttullltS III lllN tlt-
main In India, where our present nu-
neral system was invented, names exist
ed, even in Buddha's time, for numbers
up to 100. 900, 900 600, and Buddha him
self, 1t is said, prosecuted the formation
Of mineral names up tothe number which
we now denote by and - appended ci-
pliers ana might call nonnillons. This
strange passion Of the Hindoos found fresh
material for exercise when in the fourth
century of our era the principle of our
present numeral system was invented by
Hindoo Brahman priests and the easy
methods of computation based on this -ys-
TEN diffused over all India. 1t was now
possible 20 multiply with facility numbers
Of 20 places with one another and 10 be
sure of the correctness of the results.
Nay, in the seventh century in India az tn
matical tournaments were held at which,
as now in our chess tournaments. the
great masters of arithmetical compute ion
gathered together, and he was crowno as
Victorwho outstripped all competitions
Open Court. ~ s.-s.s