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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
 Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:12:06
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This is a pretty impossible experiment, but I was wondering:
If everyone in the world were somehow lined up, packed together like a can of sardines into one area, how much land space would they occupy? A country? A continent? Just a stupid question I had one day.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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BLT
> Teenager of the Year <
South Sandwich Islands
4204 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:39:34
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quote:
Originally posted by glacial906
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance.
If you can't figure it out yourself, you must forfeit your signature. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:43:34
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My question, or my signature?
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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BLT
> Teenager of the Year <
South Sandwich Islands
4204 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:51:00
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| With a signature like that, you should be able to answer the question on your own. If you can't, you must choose a different signature. :o) |
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This Is It
- FB Fan -
141 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:57:28
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but what if he just likes the signature?
on another note, I wonder what would happen if everybody exhaled when they were packed together, then all inhaled really deeply at once? |
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This Is It
- FB Fan -
141 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 14:59:39
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| and could you tip everybody over like dominoes? that would be good fun. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 15:05:19
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AT LAST!!! BLT has realized my true genius!!!!! Despite all the profound and incomprehensible things I have said so far, not to mention my amazing, near-perfect lack of typos, I am not perfect, appearances to the contrary. Indeed, even as the lay man marvels over my articulate and skillful use of high-end english combined with striking and descriptive vernacular, I ponder over many mysteries that simply baffle me...
I have figured out nonlocality to a degree...
If you are, by some strange chance, interested in particle physics, then read my answer. If not, skip over it. In recent years, scientists have been able to find out that particles interact in strange, incomprehensible ways. Some particles exhibit identical behaviour over vast distances. Don't ask me how they measure this. But, even as early as Einstein, they knew about this. He called it "spooky action." They now have coined the term "nonlocality," and it simply refers to how the action of two distinct, separate particles is not bound by the confines of distance. It is a really odd concept. The reason I read up on it was because I figured it sounded like a good title for my comic book series that I am trying to launch. (It is about time travel.)
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
Edited by - glacial906 on 08/31/2003 15:08:40 |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 15:07:25
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I just wonder how it would smell to be in that sea of people. Has anybody ever been packed in the moshpit at a concert, and everyone's all sweaty, and people are smoking cigarettes, weed, and lord knows what else? That's only in the thousands. Imagine being in the middle of like, six or seven billion.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 16:39:13
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quote:
Originally posted by glacial906
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance.
speaking of typos, in your signature, shouldn't there be a comma after "faster than light," instead of a period? grammatically, it's incorrect to begin a sentence with a transition: "Rather,"..
i find this offensive.
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 17:01:22
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I took that quote directly off of a web page. CTRL+C, CTRL+V, and it was done. If it is a typo, it is their's.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 17:04:39
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| hey, i was just kidding anyway.. just cuz i got good grammer don't mean i spect everyone else to. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 17:15:06
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I'm just kidding, too. I'm not really smart enough to have come up with my signature in the first place. I think it throws some people off...like they think I'm a physicist or something. I just thought it sounded cool.
As to the spelling, I think I just have some sort of anal retentive thing about it...I just have always been good at it. Math, no. That is my weak spot.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Crispy Water
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
819 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:27:47
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If you're still interested in the original question, I remember some book I read that was really great (what the hell was it now?) where a passage referred to all the mass of humanity being able to stand side by side on a piece of land twenty by twenty miles. Somehow I think this came from the 1940s, so there are more people now but if it was right then it should still be close now. But what the hell was that book? I think it might have been something by Primo Levi. Periodic Table, maybe? Oh well, it was twenty miles by twenty for sure.
Nothing is ever something. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:32:28
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Thank you, Crispy Water. I figured that the actual land mass would not be terribly great, but my friend (yes, we are geeks enough to talk about shit like this) said that it would be like, more than a country.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Crispy Water
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
819 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:38:25
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More than a country? Maybe more than Monaco or something, but people don't take up much space. It's just their accessories - you know, houses, privacy and the like.
Nothing is ever something. |
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Stuart
- The Clopser -
China
2291 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:41:54
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quote:
Originally posted by glacial906
This is a pretty impossible experiment, but I was wondering:
If everyone in the world were somehow lined up, packed together like a can of sardines into one area, how much land space would they occupy? A country? A continent? Just a stupid question I had one day.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance.
I heard that you could fit everyone in the world shoulder to shoulder on the Isle of Wight (which is a small Island off the coast of Southern England).
But what about if everyone in the world were together and they jumped up and landed at exactly the same time.... some people suggest that this would cause an earthquake. But I think thats rubbish... it's like saying that there would be a hurricane if everyone farted.
Bacon....... Its not fantastic |
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Crispy Water
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
819 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:45:40
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I definitely can't see it (earthquake) happening. But if people ever get to the level where they can co-ordinate a collective jump and landing like that I'll bet it wouldn't be too hard to pick a spot over some sensitive plates and pull it off. Almost makes me want to stick around another two thousand years and see how they do.
Nothing is ever something. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2003 : 18:46:48
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There probably could be a small earthquake, although nothing along the lines of what happens when tectonic plates rub together. "Earthquake" kind of depends on the area you are in. Most earthquakes don't cause the entire world to shake. But there are machines that humans have built that cause small-scale earthquakes. Those probably would only be able to be felt for a radius of a few miles. If everyone did jump at the same time, I bet there would be a sizable tremor...
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Dave Noisy
Minister of Chaos
Canada
4496 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 10:50:10
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krikey..i'll do the math.
We'll give each person .5m x .3m for personal space, which gives each person 0.15 meters squared.
There's six billion people, times 0.15m gives us 900,000km squared of space, which would be a 30,000 x 30,000km space which means my calculations aren't very good. =) |
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Ebb Vicious
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1162 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 11:06:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave Noisy
gives us 900,000km squared of space, which would be a 30,000 x 30,000km space which means my calculations aren't very good. =)
it's that last one that's the problem.
30,000 x 30,000 = 900,000,000.
my handy dandy calculator tells me that the square root of 900,000 is only 948.68329805051379959966806332982.
so roughly a 1,000km square area would fit everyone in the world. |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 13:21:04
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I fucking hate math. And how about you freaky jerks convert that into measurements we can understand?
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FRANK BLACK SATAN WORKSHIP BLACK MASS |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 13:24:34
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| 35 cubits. |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 14:21:27
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quote:
Originally posted by El Barto
I fucking hate math. And how about you freaky jerks convert that into measurements we can understand?
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FRANK BLACK SATAN WORKSHIP BLACK MASS
1000 square km is approximately 620 square miles, I think. That would be smaller than California, again I think. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 14:28:14
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| This is slightly off-topic, but what's with the little flag icons on all the Canadian member's names? They weren't there yesterday. |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 15:38:03
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| Flag icons? |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 15:43:29
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Sorry, forgive my lack of knowledge. The little colored icons that are not stars. On second glance, they are on El Barto's name too, so I don't guess they are nationality-specific. Sorry for my lack of attention to detail. I feel stoopid.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 16:05:44
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| Are you talking about the little flower and stuff? Those are for instant messengers? Other than that, I still have no idea which icons you're talking about, sorry... |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 16:28:16
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| Nope, under the poster's name is what appears to be little flags (rather than the typical stars). You had 4 flags under your name for the last posting (I'm using a Mac). |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 16:57:46
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Good, I'm really glad I'm not the only one seeing them! Although the fourteen hits of acid before lunch today could be the cause of the problem...heh.
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Ebb Vicious
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1162 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 17:00:56
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quote:
Originally posted by darwin
1000 square km is approximately 620 square miles, I think. That would be smaller than California, again I think.
yes but i meant 900,000 square km is an area approximately 1,000 km by 1,000 km.
so, the area would actually be approximately 620 miles by 620 miles, or 384,400 square miles. |
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Dave Noisy
Minister of Chaos
Canada
4496 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 17:36:59
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I dunno, i just hit the SQRT button to get the SQRT of 900,000. Of course i have no idea what that means.
I wonder how much pressure would have to be exerted to fit every human in the basketball court across the street from me...and how many people could be left living in said scenario..? |
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Ebb Vicious
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1162 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 17:49:34
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| check your calculator, 'coz the hitting SQRT on 900,000 should have given you the number i got, definitely not 30,000. |
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Dave Noisy
Minister of Chaos
Canada
4496 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2003 : 23:28:47
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| Prolly...stupid Intel chip..or Windows..i dunno. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2003 : 01:00:49
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So...macintosh, or pc? Any Linux users out there..?
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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glacial906
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1738 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2003 : 01:11:31
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quote:
Originally posted by floop
quote:
Originally posted by glacial906
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance.
speaking of typos, in your signature, shouldn't there be a comma after "faster than light," instead of a period? grammatically, it's incorrect to begin a sentence with a transition: "Rather,"..
i find this offensive.
English is a very gramatically incorrect language. Supposedly, it is very tough for people who speak any other language to learn it, moreso than it is for us to learn another language. It is full of inconsistencies that don't occur quite as frequently in other languages. I have taken a bit of Spanish, and it seems to me to be a bit more descriptive than any of the Germanic/Roman languages that are out today tho.
[/quote]
Quantum nonlocality does not prove that "signals" travel "faster than light." Rather, it shows that at a deep level of reality the speed of light as a limiting factor is irrelevant because phenomena are instantaneously connected regardless of distance. |
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Scarla O
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
947 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2003 : 02:07:56
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Ok, I have the answer (kind'of) to the question about everyone jumping in the air at the same time...thank Cecil Adams the all-knowing enigma from www.straightdope.com (he answers all those questions you've always wondered about...
...what is the meaning of PEZ?
...if cows laughed would milk come out of their noses?
...how did bazooka joe lose his right eye?
Anyway, here goes...
Dear Cecil:
I hope that you can answer a question that has plagued me since childhood. If every man, woman, and child in China each stood on a chair, and everyone jumped off their chair at exactly the same time, would the earth be thrown off its axis? Also, if prior to jumping, they all yelled at the top of their lungs, would we hear it here in the United States, and how much of a time delay would there be? --Robert P., Los Angeles
Dear Robert:
Amazing as it may seem, I am actually going to answer this incredibly retarded question. But first Uncle Cecil wishes to have a word with his devoted readers.
As you can imagine, I possess phenomenal scholarly resources. I have converted the spare bedroom in my house into a research library containing 16 million volumes, which are dusted twice a day by a team of robed acolytes holding candles. I have instant access via my Apple 380S GT to all the world's data banks. Why, right here on my writing table next to the box of spare quills I have a dog-eared copy of 16,000 Unbelievably Complicated Physics Experiments for the Home and Garden, With Answers, which has helped me out of many a jam.
But despite this wealth of scientific knowledge, the Teeming Millions routinely write in with questions that not one sane person has ever asked in 6,000 years of recorded history. As a result, my usual sources of information are useless.
Nonetheless, I try. I have been in repeated contact with the Beijing government all week in an effort to persuade them to get all 1,027,000,000 Chinese (1980 estimate) to jump off chairs. I have pleaded with them that will signficantly advance the cause of science. However, they have not been cooperative.
They point out the China is a poor country, and lacks a sufficient quantity of chairs. Moreover, many of the chairs that are available are of nonuniform height, meaning that even if all the Chinese jumped off at the same time, they would hit the ground at different times, thus throwing off the results of the experiment.
Finally, they point out that discipline among the Chinese people has become notoriously lax since the Cultural Revolution, and many of the participants in the project could be expected to be fooling around when they were supposed to be jumping. The Chinese government suggests that instead of having the entire nation jump off chairs, I should get one representative citizen to jump and multiply the results by 1,027,000,000. I have, needless to say, rejected this solution as grossly inadequate.
The possibility of an actual test thus being remote, I have been forced to rely on my considerable powers of inductive logic, to wit: given the principle that every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction, when the Chinese get up on their chairs, they would essentially be pushing the earth down in the process of elevating themselves. Then, when they jumped off, the earth would simultaneously spring back, attracted by the gravitational mass of one billion airborne Chinese persons, with the result that the Chinese and the earth would meet somewhere in the middle, if you follow me. The upshot of this is that action and reaction would cancel each other out and the earth would remain securely in orbit.
Just for fun, however--after you've been doing this job for a while you get a pretty bizarre notion of what constitutes a good time--suppose 1,000,000,000 Chinese, give or take 27,000,000, were somehow to materialize atop chairs without their having to elevate themselves thereto. And suppose they jumped off.
Having performed astonishing feats of mathematical acrobatics (requiring the entire afternoon, I might note--sometimes I can't believe the crap I spend my time on), I calculate that the resultant thud in aggregate would be the equivalent of 500 tons of TNT. Not bad, but nowhere near enough to dislocate the earth, which weighs 6 sextillion, 588 quintillion short tons. I refuse to even discuss what would happen if all the Chinese yelled at the top of their lungs.
--CECIL ADAMS
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