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  . Perhaps 3e12 comets per star times 1e24 stars is 6e36 icy bodies in the universe, not counting   . Perhaps 3e12 comets per star times 1e24 stars is 6e36 icy bodies in the universe, not counting unbound bodies

Steven Austad Books


Methuselah's Zoo

what nature can teach us about living longer, healthier lives

  • 2022 Beaverton Lib 571.879 AUS
  • p111 "Biology is complicated. If it were simple, it would be physics"

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  • How many atoms in human body?

    • Total Earth biomass 550 GT carbon 5.5 x 1e2 x 1e9 x 1e6 (tonnes per gram) = 5.5e17 grams
    • carbon is 12 amu and 12% of the atoms in human body
    • Avogadro's number 6e23, hence one gram of human carbon is 5e22 atoms
    • Associated with (100/12)*5e22 ≈ 4e21 total atoms per gram of human carbon
    • Fermi estimate: Total Earth biomass 5.5e17 * 4e21 atoms = 2e39 biomass atoms if humans representative

    • There are 1e22 to 1e24 stars in the universe
    • Thousands of asteroids and trillions of comets and icy bodies orbit the Sun
    • Perhaps 3e12 comets per star times 1e24 stars is 6e36 icy bodies in the universe, not counting unbound bodies
    • that's a LOT of physics
    • Both biology and physics are complicated ... or simple, if one is a simpleton

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To Err Is Human, To Admit It Is Not and Other Essays

  • 2022


Real People Don't Own Monkeys

  • 2022


Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering about the Body's Journey Through Life

  • 1999 Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering about the Body's Journey Through Life


StevenAustad (last edited 2026-01-03 08:38:41 by KeithLofstrom)