5 ms·
In general there is one major impact every million years -a mere blink of the eye in geological time. If the universe is only a few billion years old, how is a
by rkowalick 16y ago
In general there is one major impact every million years -a mere blink of the eye in geological time.
If the universe is only a few billion years old, how is a million years a "blink of the eye"?
- jat850 16y agoJust a convenient turn of phrase, probably. Assuming the universe is around 14 billion years old, a million years is like comparing a blink to about 70 minutes (average speed of a blink being somewhere between 300ms and 400ms). Does a blink feel short in comparison to 70 minutes? That's a matter of perception, I guess...
- hugh3 16y agoThe universe is about 14 billion years old, so a million years is one fourteen-thousandth of the age of the universe. Now, an actual eyeblink takes about 300 milliseconds, so a million years is to the age of the universe as the blink of an eye is to 70 minutes. So the metaphor seems reasonable to me.