Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Is it possible to calculate the number of atoms in the universe?
11 Answers
- busterwasmycatLv 75 years agoFavorite Answer
within a few orders of magnitude, depending on how you want to define the word "universe". the number is pretty large. We can come up with a reasonable estimate of the mass, and that pretty well imposes the number of atoms, given that hydrogen is by far the most common element. The mass estimate depends on a lot of fairly uncertain parameters, of course (average mass of a galaxy, number of galaxies, those sorts of numbers), and obviously we cannot define what we cannot see, and we cannot see the entire universe. It is not possible to give a limit to something that has no evident end. And it doesn't matter at all whether you assume hydrogen is all mass, or only half the mass (or something else). the uncertainty elsewhere is far larger than a factor of 2.
It is just a standard back of the envelope calculation (rough estimates for all important factors will give you a rough estimate for the total).
- az_lenderLv 75 years ago
In the Wikipedia article entitled "Observable universe" you will find a mass-based estimate using the assumption that all atoms are hydrogen: there would be about 10^80 atoms in the observable universe. If you then visit the article on "cosmic abundance of the elements" you find that in our galaxy, 74% of all the atoms are hydrogen, and a little calculation will show that those hydrogen atoms account for about half the mass of our galaxy. So the 10^80 atoms estimate may be inflated by a factor of 150/74; therefore let's say the number of atoms in the observable universe may be between 10^79 and 10^80.
- goringLv 65 years ago
Not exactly since we do not really know all the possible structures of atoms in the Universe.All our calculations are made relative to the earth as the frame of reference.Hence calculations are only approximations.Not all representnt reality.
- Anonymous5 years ago
Yes but it's gigantic.
There are more atoms In one human than there are stars in the entire visible universe.
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- Tom SLv 75 years ago
One could calculate only a gross statistical approximation. For one thing the number is always changing.
- poornakumar bLv 75 years ago
Someone did that already. It must be 10⁶⁴ (1 followed by 64 zeroes) or so, if I remember correct.
- campbelp2002Lv 75 years ago
It is possible to estimate that number, but not count them or calulate the exact number.
- Mark GLv 75 years ago
No - because we don't know how big the Universe is, but we know how many there are in the OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE.