The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-08-03
vASTNESS OF NUMBERS.


The Immensely ofa Billion shown by Some |
Interesting Comparisons.
Although the words milliard and billion
are known by name to almost every one,
yet the significance Of the numbers so ex-
pressed is 10y far not so distinct and IA
miliar to many us the meanings of the
smaller numbers. For example, II the
breadth of street is represented by
1000, 600 units, 1000, O0O,000 of such
units would give distance equal to that
from Hamburg to San Francisco. IL this
IL not remembered, we are apt to get very
erroneous impressions, especially of astro-
nomical phenomena. As our earth meas
ures in its greatest circumference only
about %, 900 miles, while the planets are
distant from the earth and from each other
spaces varying from % 900, 900 TO ,GO0,-
900, 600 miles, accordingly most of the dis
tances which confront us on the earth are
to be regarded ms vanishingly 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,
MS great ms from % 900, 00O, 900 to 4,G00,-
900 ,000, 900 miles. For example, Sirius is
SO, OOO, OOO, 900 miles distant. Consequent
of fixed stars, we have to 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 be regarded as vanish
ingly small when compared with the dis
tanccs 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 as Sirius appears to us rs a
luminous point.
The reader will readily appreciate that
the number billion IL generally conceived
too small when we tell him that IA billion
seconds have not elapsed since the origin
of the human species. reckoning the age
Of humanity at 80, OO0 years. 1t will also
seem hardly credible that billion new
| American IS cent pieces, placed one on
| top of another, would reach an altitude of
| over 900, 900 miles-that is TO say, would
form n cylindrical pile over four times as
| high as the moon il 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-
ical statements But this is not the case.
More than 1000 years ago there lived n
| people who, from pure motives Of amuse
ment, exercised their faculties in this do
main. In India, where our present nu
neral system was invented, names exist
ed, even in Buddha's time, for numbers
up to 100 600, 900, 900, and Buddha him
self, it is said, prosecuted the formation
of mineral names up to the number which
we now denote by and 81 appended CT
piers and might call nonnillons. This
strange passion of the IIindoos 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 sys-
TEN diffused over all India. 1t was now
| possible to multiply with facility numbers
of 20 places with one another and to be
sure of the correctness of the results.
Nay, in the seventh century in India arith-
| metical tournaments were held at which
as now in our chess tournaments, the
great masters of arithmctcal computation
gathered together, and he was crowned as
victor who outstripped all competitions
| Open Court.