Physical Quantities and Units

Known Ranges of Length, Mass, and Time

The vastness of the universe and the breadth over which physics applies are illustrated by the wide range of examples of known lengths, masses, and times in Table 1.3. Examination of this table will give you some feeling for the range of possible topics and numerical values. (See Figure 1.20 and Figure 1.21).

Figure 1.20 Tiny phytoplankton swims among crystals of ice in the Antarctic Sea. They range from a few micrometers to as much as 2 millimeters in length.

Figure 1.21 Galaxies collide 2.4 billion light years away from Earth. The tremendous range of observable phenomena in nature challenges the imagination.