From: kalsow (Bill Kalsow)
	Subject: how big is a mo?
	To: src.etc
	Cc: kalsow
	Date: Thu, 25 Jul 91 08:26:38 PDT
	Lines: 65
	 
	 
	  With the advent of 64-bit machines there are some new numbers
	  to get acquainted with.  For example, the new LAST(INTEGER) is
	 
	             9223372036854775807
	 
	               (2 ^ 63 - 1)
	 
	      nine quintillion two hundred twenty three
	      quadrillion three hundred seventy two
	      trillion thirty six billion eight hundred
	      fifty four million seven hundred seventy
	      five thousand eight hundred seven
	 
	  Its name is a bit awkward to utter, so for the rest of this discussion
	  let's adopt the following shorter name:
	 
	      mo
	      (mo), n., pl. -s, (as after a numeral) -mo
	      1. a cardinal number, two raised to the sixty third power minus one.
	      2. a symbol for this number, as MO.
	      3. a set of this many persons or things: a mo of men.
	      4. a very great number or amount. (slang)
	      [1980's American slang, computer sci. jargon]
	 
	  Finally, to help internalize how big a mo really is, here's a few
	  interesting relationships:
	 
	      MO millimeters      0.975 light-years
	 
	      MO square inches    0.95 x surface area of Neptune
	      MO square yards     1.27 x surface area of the sun
	 
	      MO cubic feet       1.05 x volume of Ceres
	      MO cubic yards      5.18 x volume of water on Earth
	      MO cubic miles      27.2 x volume of the sun
	 
	      MO seconds          20 x age of the universe
	      MO nanoseconds      292 years (1970 - 2262)
	      MO vibrations       1.003 billion seconds
	         of cesium 133         (31.8 years)
	 
	      MO pounds           0.8 x weight of Earth's atm.
	      MO M&M's            9 trillion tons
	 
	      MO dollars          public debt in 2096
	 
	      MO electrons        1.48 coulombs (amp seconds)
	 
	      MO molecules of H2  .031 milligrams
	      MO atoms of C12     .181 milligrams
	 
	      MO hertz            .325 angstrom wavelength
	 
	      If everyone on the planet (5 billion) each lived 70 years
	      and ate an M&M every 1.25 seconds for their entire life,
	      we'd consume 1 mo of M&M's.
	 
	 
	  The above is based on data found in the 1987 Information Please
	  Almanac and an empirical sample of one 1 lb. bag of M&M's.
	 
	 - Bill