•The
nearest power of ten of a number is called its
Order of
Magnitude. Examples from
Tipler’s table
1-3:
• Size (m)
Mass (kg) Time (s)
•Proton 10E-15
Electron 10E-30 Period of
•
visible
•
light 10E-13
•Sun 10E9 Sun 10E30 Age of earth 10E17
•Another illustration: “Zooming in on
Tallahassee.”