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Article #911Number of atoms in the human body
From: David Battle
Date: Thu, 04 May 1989 15:23
Date: Thu, 04 May 1989 15:23
21 lines
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1367 bytes
I need a good estimate of the number of atoms in the human body. Back of the envelope calculations give about 10^27 assuming an average molecular weight of 12 (as in Carbon 12). The large numbers of lighter hydrogen atoms may make this number higher, however. Where would I find a more accurate estimate? A breakdown by element (or even isotope) would be nice. Just for reference, I am a computer scientist, not a biologist, chemist, etc. Disclaimer: I try not to have opinions. -David L. Battle battle@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu battle@esddlb.esd.ornl.gov [Back-of-the-envelope calculations also give 10^27 assuming the body is mostly water. Noting that recorded human weights range over two orders of magnitude, it's probably a good guess. --JoSH]
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arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!alphard.cs.utk.edu!battleShow Full Headers
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!alphard.cs.utk.edu!battle From: battle@alphard.cs.utk.EDU (David Battle) Newsgroups: sci.nanotech Subject: Number of atoms in the human body Summary: Estimate of number of atoms in an "average" human body wanted. Keywords: atoms Message-ID: <8905062246.AA19408@athos.rutgers.edu> Date: 4 May 89 15:23:19 GMT Sender: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu Organization: Oak Ridge National Labs, Environmental Sciences Division Lines: 21 Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu