If the earth is a grain of sand what is the universe equivalent to?

1 Answer
Jul 7, 2016

The observable universe would be smaller than the volume of the Milky Way but far larger than the largest known star.

Explanation:

Let's start with the volume of a grain of rice.

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#0.0025 fl oz = 7.29*10^(-8)m^3#

Now, let's get the Earth's volume:

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#2.598*10^(11)mi^3=1.083*10^(21)m^3#

We need the volume of the observable universe:

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Set up proportions:

#(1.083*10^(21)m^3)/(7.29*10^(-8)m^3)=(3.387*10^(80)m^3)/x#

#x=2.279*10^(52)m^3#

This is about 26,916 cubic light years.