1 meter is the median size in the Universe

notes
Human scale is about the middle of the range of logarithmic sizes.
Author

Stephen J. Mildenhall

Published

2025-03-12

Rank Object Size or Diameter Log Size, \(m\)
1 Neutrino cross-section diameter \(-24\)
2 Electron, quark \(-18\)
3 Proton \(-15\)
4 Atom (H, C, Au), water molecule \(-10\)
5 DNA molecule \(-9\)
6 Amino acid \(-9\)
8 Insulin (small protein) \(-8\)
7 Virus \(-8\)
9 Tintin (large human protein) \(-7\)
10 Bacteria cell \(-6\)
11 Average human cell \(-5\)
12 Rydberg atom (Ce) \(-4\)
13 Ant \(-3\)
14 Mouse \(-2\)
15 Human \(0\)
middle!
16 Blue whale \(1\)
17 Large tree \(2\)
18 Container ship \(3\)
19 Moon \(6\)
20 Earth \(7\)
21 Earth-Moon distance \(8\)
22 Jupiter \(8\)
23 Sun \(9\)
24 Earth-Sun distance (1 AU) \(11\)
25 Solar system \(13\)
26 Oort Cloud \(15\)
27 Nearest star (Proxima Centauri) \(16\)
28 Milky Way diameter \(21\)
29 Local Group (galaxy cluster) \(23\)
30 Observable universe \(26\)

Comparisons

Entities Sizes (m) Ratio
Atom : Nucleus : Electron (solar sys model) \(10^{-10}\) : \(10^{-15}\) : \(10^{-18}\) 10,000x : 1,000x
Protein : Atom : Nucleus \(10^{-8}\) : \(10^{-10}\) : \(10^{-15}\) 100x : 10,000x
Cell : Protein : Atom \(10^{-5}\) : \(10^{-8}\) : \(10^{-10}\) 1,000x : 100x
Person : Cell : Protein \(10^0\) : \(10^{-5}\) : \(10^{-8}\) 10,000x: 1,000x
Football stadium : Football : Grain of sand \(10^2\) : \(10^{-1}\) : \(10^{-3}\) 1,000x : 100x
City : Street : Person \(10^4\) : \(10^1\) : \(10^0\) 1,000x : 10x
Earth to Moon : Earth : Moon \(10^8\) : \(10^7\) : \(10^6\) 10x : 10x
Earth : Moon : City \(10^7\) : \(10^6\) : \(10^4\) 10x : 100x
Earth-Sun distance : Sun : Earth \(10^{11}\) : \(10^9\) : \(10^7\) 100x : 100x
Solar System : Earth-Sun : Sun \(10^{15}\) : \(10^{11}\) : \(10^9\) 10,000x : 100x
Galaxy : Solar System : Earth-Sun \(10^{21}\) : \(10^{15}\) : \(10^{11}\) 1Mx : 10,000x

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