What scientific factoid did you learn about today?

[Monkeh]

@Monkeh

because If the effect of gravitational compression were to be factored out, the materials of which Mercury is made would be denser, with an uncompressed density of 5.3 g/cm3 versus Earth's 4.4 g/cm3. (WP)

I would never have thought Earth's gravity would affect things so much. Wow, this is the interesting factoid I learned today.

[Inspector Gadget]

When you take all of the electrons and photons that make up the internet has a mass of about 50 grams.

The internet weighs ca. 50g

[Moon Goddess]

So I could take the internet in pill form....

[shand]

Presumably that makes some rather crass assumptions: the size of the internet being the first one - not sure its actually possible to accurately say how big it is. Then of course are we just refering to the electrons in storage (in a HD for example) is there an asumption that its all on average HD's, SSDs use more electrons i think-maybe. dont quote me on that. What about the inferstructure - do any of the intermediate nodes between A and B count?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! (genuinely interested as to what the answers are - do you have a source?)

thats a LOT of electrons though!

[Diche Bach]

Whatever number of electrons actually comprise the information, isn't that a bit misleading to conclude that the electrons "are" the internet?

All of the monitors, cables, keyboards, mouses, motherboards, CPUs, power supplies, towers, fiber optic cables, bolts, nuts, screws, poles, etc., . . . given all of those are fully required functional components to make the Internet work, how can you exclude them from the total mass of the Internet?

Yes it is somewhat interesting to speculate about what the electrons that mediate the information of the internet amount to, but the Internet itself is IMO a lot more than just those electrons. Its like arguing that an automobile IS its gasoline.

Not trying to be a douche, just saying

[Matokage]

I think that this 50g are just the internet informations by it self. Most likely the liquid weight of the internet. The brute weight of the internet (like every thing that makes it work and all) would be around a hundred to a thousand tons I presume.

Also, taking the internet in form of a pill would probably make you instantly insane >implying that it would be processed directly into information to your brain and not just beign a breifly brust of light in your digestive system.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Matokage

[Inspector Gadget]

Here found a link to Vsauce who made an excellent video:

[tizalee]

North pole and south pole are attracted by each other. But they will not meet ever.