What is the largest number you can think of that represents some thing tangible?

Question

By something tangible I mean physical things like grains of sand or atoms etc, not notional things like probabilities.

Answer 1

Number of atoms in the universe:
10^11 galaxies * 10^11 stars in each * 10^33 grams in each star * 6x10^23 atoms of hydrogen per gram = about 10^79 atoms. There are probably more photons but photons are so. . . insubstantial. Neutrinos? Well, you ever try to catch one? They are only slightly easier to find than ghosts.

Answer 2

The largest numbers with a physical meaning represent the probabilities of very unlikely events. If a monkey sits at a computer and hammers away at random, the probability that he'll produce an average-length paperback novel is about 1 in 10^1000000. If you place a book on the table, the probability that the random thermal motion of its molecules will cause it to jump up in the air is about 1 in 10^(10^30). The probability that you'll suddenly be transported to Mars by quantum tunnelling is about 1 in 10^(10^50). If you jumble up all the atoms in the observable universe, the probability that they'll all find themselves in the same position as they started in is about 1 in a googleplex (1 in 10^(10^100)).

Answer 3

The Googol Plex is the largest number. A Googol is 10 to the 100 and a Googol plex is a Googol to the power of a Googol! This is more than all the atoms in the entire Universe. As for tangible it is hard for us to visualise a number greater than about 15. Jules lecturer, Australia.

Answer 4

Some scientists estimate that the number of atoms in the universe is somewhere around 10 to the 85th power. Higher numbers than that are probably pure mathematical constructs, although some probability calculations can result in some insanely large numbers, such as N! (factorial), where N is Avogradro's number, 6.022E23. This would be found in statistical mechanics.

Answer 5

OK, if by tangible you mean able to vision and see and conceive as real, I'd have to say about 100. on the other hand, Avogadro's number (6.0221415×10^23) is tangible in chemistry terms. that would only be like 12.0107(8) g of carbon. on the complete opposite idea, the smallest number that is tangible to me is 1x10^-9. a nano-meter is tangible to me. I work closely with an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope).

Answer 6

if you say "some thing" tangible... than i assume you mean 1 thing... otherwise youd use the word "things" to show plurality ...so the largest number i could correctly think of to represent the quantity of that single thing, some thing tangible, is one....

sorry if this isnt the answer you wanted but its almost like saying: what is the number above one that represents an object i could touch :)

Answer 7

The only answer to this question, as asked is:

1

This is the only number that is large enough to refer to a tangible anything, because with the ADDITION OF JUST ONE MORE, the tangibility is changed.

Answer 8

It has been estimated that the number of subatomic particles in the Observable Universe is on the order of 10^80. Most of those are photons.

Answer 9

The U.S. national debt.

About: $8,394,407,570,022.72 and rising.

Of course other numbers like Avogadro's constant are larger, but I think that national debt is a good candidate for something tangible, enough so that it may kick us in the butt.

Answer 10

24.. I can visualize and keep in my mind 24 cans of coke.. try as I will.. I just can't add any more and keep the visualization.

I started with eggs.. first 4 eggs.. then a dozen.. then 18.. but it is too hard to visualize eggs above 18.