Thursday, April 26, 2012

Velocity

As you are reading this, how far do you think you have moved?  If your answer was, "Nowhere, you idiot, I'm sitting on my ass reading your stupid question in front of my computer, of course I haven't moved anywhere", then I should phrase it a little differently.  While reading this, how far do you think you have 'traveled'?  If you still answered the same way, then you are wrong because while sitting at your computer, the Earth has been spinning, therefore you have technically traveled quite far.  In fact, the Earth rotates at a rate of 1,046.5 mph (1,6747.4 km/hr, I'm including the conversion rates for our Russian readers, yo comrades).  But wait, not only does the Earth rotate on it's on axis, but it also orbits the Sun (this may sound like I think you are idiots, but just stay with me) at a rate of 18.6 mile per second (29.8 km/sec).  Now let's think a little bit larger because our Sun is also moving at a rate of 137.5 mi/sec (220 km/sec) as it rotates on an arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.  And let's take it one step farther because the Milky Way Galaxy is actually traveling at a rate of 375 mi/sec (600 km/sec) through the Universe, which roughly translates to 32.4 million miles per day (51.84 million km).  That is per day.  It is ridiculous how large the universe truly is.  So, if you are a really slow reader and it took you five minutes to read this, then you have just traveled 112,500 miles through space which is a longer distance than most of us will travel on Earth in our lifetimes.  I don't know where this thought came from (and I swear I don't smoke pot), but it fascinates me and I thought I would share it with you.

"No, not that Milky Way."

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