The Scale of the Universe - Interactive
Animation Credit & Copyright:
Cary & Michael Huang
Explanation:
What does the universe look like on small scales?
On large scales?
Humanity is discovering that the universe is a very different place on every proportion that has been
explored.
For example, so far as we know, every tiny proton is
exactly the same, but every
huge galaxy is different.
On more familiar scales, a small glass table top to a human is a
vast plane of strange smoothness to a
dust mite -- possibly
speckled with cell boulders.
Not all scale lengths are
well explored
-- what happens to the smallest mist droplets you sneeze, for example,
is a topic of active research -- and possibly useful to know to help
stop the spread of disease.
The featured interactive flash animation, a modern
version
of the classic video
Powers of Ten,
is a new window to many of the
known scales of our universe.
By moving the scroll bar across the bottom, you can explore a
diversity of sizes, while clicking on different items will bring up descriptive information.
To watch the animation, Click here.
Source: NASA