How big is big and how small is small. The sizes of everything and why (Q2846511)

Answers to the title questions are given in fifteen chapters. A logarithmic scale in meters at the top of each chapter compares the objects in consideration. The first chapter gives an introducing global overview of sizes from quarks through the edge of the observable cosmos. The history of length standards together with their motivations from the ancient Greece until the introduction of the meter is included. Special units used in atomic physics or astronomy are explained. Orders of magnitude are illustrated by examples. Chapter two considers living objects from the size of a virus through the hight of redwood. Here the relation of length to area and volume is essential and exemplified. The questions how big an animal can grow, what hight can be reached by plants, and how small bacteria can be are discussed. Numbers and decimal powers are considered in chapter three. Here also the duration of well known procedures are compared. The determination of Avogaro's number by J. J. Loschmidt is reported to some extend. Chapter four concerns phenomena observed in our surroundings. Scales of strength of the wind, hurricanes, and earthquakes, hardness of materials, magnitude of stars, sound levels, and finally audio frequencies are considered. Chapter five begins with a historical overview of the development of thermodynamics up to its statistical foundation which is the background of L. Boltzmann's constant and M. Planck's constant. Eventually, the size of natural objects is compared in a scale from the Planck length to the meter. In Chapter six astronomical distances are considered. It is fascinating how ancient Greeks determined planetary sizes and distances. The Greek and Roman number systems are looked upon. Amounts of energy from photons over atomic bombs to supernovas is the topic of chapter seven. The physical forms of energy, their conversion, energy conservation, and energy flows in our daily life, on the earth, in the cosmos are exemplified. Chapters eight and nine are devoted to time scales. Time measurements, seasonal varying day length, lifetimes of elementary particles through fly flaps of birds to fast soccer kicks are considered. After mentions on formerly used time units the lengths of days and years on the planets of our solar system are considered. Then geologic time scales and methods of their determination are described. Chapter ten looks into atomic scales. The meter is nowadays defined a multiple of the vacuum wavelength of a krypton spectral line. The limits to measure small distances by a meter stick are exemplified and the possibilities to use light diffraction patterns is shown up. Sizes of atoms, molecules, nano-fibers, and crystal lattices are discussed. Chapter eleven deals with the scope of smallest lengths. In between the size of heavy nuclei and atoms there are four decimal powers of length without material objects, in between nucleons and heavy nuclei there is one decimal power. So nuclear structure and hadron colliders are central topics. QCD, the standard model and string theory are considerd. The present experimental limit is about \(10^{-18}\) m, The Planck length of order \(10^{-35}\) m can never be reached since the radiation quanta needed for detection would have to be black holes. Our solar system is considered in chapter twelve. The history of astronomic observations and methods to determine the radii of the planetary orbits, the sizes of planets and their satellites is reviewed. Special notice is given to the determination of the distance from the sun to the earth. Astrophysical considerations on the formation of the planetary system, planetary rings, the astroid belt, dwarf planets are included. Chapter thirteen deals with the scope of largest lengths. It begins describing stellar structure and dynamics in relation to the size. Then methods to determine the distances are considered. Since parallax measurements are difficult and don't reach far brightness and color are combined to spectral parallax. After consideration of black holes, nebulae, and supernovas in our galaxy the structure, size and dynamics of other galaxies are considered. The red shift caused by the cosmic expansion, the Hubble law, gives a means to determine very large distances. The chapter closes considering the microwave background, estimating the age of the universe, and the distance to its edge. That the numerical values in meters of sizes and distances in nature cover only a small region of numbers, even in the logarithmic scale, is shown in chapter fourteen. The mass density of the cosmos, the numbers of atoms, nucleons, and photons are estimated. The number of possible combinations of bit or letter strings grows immense with the length of the string. The cardinality of sets is finally considered. Chapter fifteen summarizes preceding chapters and considers the four fundamental forces as well as attempts of their unification.NEWLINENEWLINEThe author succeeds to mediate more or less abstract matter in a gripping manner. He demonstrates vitally how knowledge is achieved historically step by step. This book can be best recommended to anyone interested in physics.