Student Wants Science To Name 'Hella' Big Number 193
thodelu writes "Austin Sendek, a 20-year-old UC Davis student, is trying to get scientists from Boise to Beijing to use the term 'hella' to denote the unimaginably huge, seldom-cited quantity of 10 to the 27th power. From the article: 'It started as a joke, but Sendek's Facebook petition: to the Consultative Committee on Units, a subdivision of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, has drawn more than 60,000 supporters. Its chances for formal adoption by the global weights-and-measures community are hella dim, but Google was so taken with Sendek's modest proposal that it incorporated "hella" in its online calculator.'"
Hmmm (Score:2)
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"Unimaginably huge"?
It's the number of water molecules in a little more than 8 gallons of water [goo.gl]. If you can't imagine 8 gallons of water, then you don't belong here.
Here's a quick calculation involving an actual unimaginably huge number: 1 hella / Graham's number [goo.gl] ~= 0.
That's how big 10^27 is: close to zero.
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Nothing says math revolution (Score:5, Funny)
like a page in facebook.
Re:Nothing says math revolution (Score:5, Informative)
Also ...
I can sneeze without a Facebook account and get 60k people involved. When you're using a big popularity contest where you being friends with someone makes them more popular than anyone who can be your friend is going to do it.
There should be a ban against being a live and using facebook at the same time.
Cartman (Score:5, Funny)
"You guys are hella stupid...you guys are hella lame."
Re:Cartman (Score:5, Funny)
Damn it Cartman, stop saying Hella.
Re:Cartman (Score:4, Funny)
whatever you guys, i'm hella keeeeewwwww'
Dumb whim. (Score:2, Insightful)
Keep it in urban dictionary, where it belongs.
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wow.... (Score:1)
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10^27 is WICKED HUGE!
True, but we can't really appreciate the magnitude of 10^27 until we see it translated into more familiar units. [google.com]
Now, anyone up for a Libraries of Congress conversion?
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Google did it for me: "The diameter of the universe is 1.4 hellameters"
I'm curious how long it will be 'til somebody says, "This hellabyte drive just isn't big enough to hold all my pron."
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Fuck. Only 1.4??? That really is a hella big number!!!
But, I guess, it's actually bigger than Avogadro's Number [wikipedia.org], which I've always considered to be one of those numbers that's so vast as to make me glaze over.
So, I wonder what people do use 10^27 for then? It sounds like there's very little practical application for it.
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I'm curious how long it will be 'til somebody says, "This hellabyte drive just isn't big enough to hold all my pron."
Is a hellabyte 10^27 bytes or 2^90 bytes? The difference is not insignificant (237.94 yottabytes(10^24)).
Anyway, as an SI prefix, where zotta-/zocto- and yotta-/yocto- would make 10^-27 would be heclo-, which is too close to hecto- which is 10^2. Plus, it would make three prefixes using the letter H, and hecto- has prior claim to both capital and lowercase versions. Well, not in binary measure, but still in metric.
That should be enough to disqualify hella-.
Otherwise, if you drop hecto- as 10^2, you should h
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Re:Why Not "Helluva"? (Score:4, Informative)
Sigh, another hip young developer that thinks he knows it all but yet again shows his ignorance on the Internet. You cannot use helluva fool, Mr. T invented that phrase and it is his trademark and copyright! Hires Proof! [yamoslair.com]
1980's pop culture references you young hip developers might never get, but Mr. T takes on Megatrong. [youtube.com]
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Then, dude, chill, sit back, enjoy a blunt, listen to some ill rhymes, and contemplate getting some shizzle on your dizzle while you kick it with some fly, phat shorty in your crib. The feelings will pass. Know what I'm sayin', G?
Peace out, dawg. Chillax is a perfectly cromulent word. ;-)
I've always supported flexible use of language (Score:1, Interesting)
This sort of thing is genuinely cool. I've always been a fan. In fact, I even found most if not all of the Bush-isms to be tolerable use of word parts. I tend to communicate and learn by way of concepts, so perhaps this has something to do with it...
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Does not parse, does not parse. Bleeble-whoop.
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Perhaps better put, I'm always the guy going, "You KNOW what I meant..."
Re:I've always supported flexible use of language (Score:4, Funny)
So you understand Bush, but most people have trouble understanding you. I suggest freezing yourself for 500 years and going to see the doctor:
"Don't wanna sound like a dick or nothin', but it says on your chart that you're fucked up. Ah, you talk like a fag, and your shit's all retarded. What I'd do, is just like... ha ha... like... aha... you know, like, you know what I mean, like... haha... Don't worry scrote! There are plenty of 'tards out there living really kick ass lives. My first wife was 'tarded. She's a pilot now."
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And thats a big indication that you don't know how to communicate effectively if you're saying that often, perhaps the problem is a little closer to home than you realize.
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Not really. My points get home, but people tend to get distracted in the 'how' the point was made rather than the 'what' it contained.
I think I'm just a bit more open minded, and use fewer rote-memory expressions than most people do.
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Bits and pieces of language committed to rote-memory, usually.
All I have to say is... (Score:2)
Seriously, keep the stupid out of math.
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We're referring to NoCal here, so you need to say "brah" or "broham" please.
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It's NORcal, not NoCal. Damn foreigners always get that wrong.
"lotsa" taken? (Score:3, Insightful)
I think it would be wise not to make reference to a religious concept in an SI prefix.
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I'm sure you are a hit at the parties.
"Hell" might have religious origins but these days it's just a standard english word in nearly any use-case. I think I've used the word used a dozen or so times already today and not once was it refering to a religious concept.
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"Hell" might have religious origins but these days it's just a standard english word in nearly any use-case.
The SI unit system is used in a lot more languages than English though. (SI stands for Système international, you know.) Personally, I'd rather have some systematic naming scheme for the higher order prefixes.
I also think it's kind of pointless to standardize on a name that will likely offend a lot of people, even if you and I have no problem with it, just because it makes you chuckle the first couple of times you hear it.
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They already have giga- which is taken from the names of the giants of Ancient Greek mythology.
Good Luck... (Score:5, Funny)
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I thought it was a Metric f'ing ton?
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Who is this guy? (Score:4, Funny)
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No, but he's descended from a Roman consul. That still automatically makes you relevant, doesn't it?
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You can't own property, man.
Great Idea!! (Score:2)
In fact, I think it's the Cat's Pajamas!!
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Its the Bee's Knees!!
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It's real boss!
Hey that sounds nice (Score:2)
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What do (Score:2)
The Greeks say about this?
Isn't their name for their own country "Hellas"
And 10^27 isn't that impressive. Its much smaller than a Googol
Re:What do (Score:4, Funny)
Given the amount of hellenic state deficit, I think that setting 1 hella = 10^27 is quite appropriate.
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Greek here... (Score:2)
Different root. Also, Greece should ideally be pronounced with a silent "H" and accented at the last syllable, nothing like Cartman's favorite word.
Also, 10^27 is not such a big number and already has a name in (I guess) most languages. If you are interested, in Greek it is called "oktakis ekatommirio".
I always wanted Bigga (Score:2)
I think Bigga would be more fun.
A Biggabyte harddrive.
Biggabit network connection.
It just roles off the tongue the Hella is just based off some stupid show that will not be remembered in 30 years.
Unimaginably Huge (Score:2)
Know what I cannot imagine, however? 10 to the 28th power... Now that simply boggles the mind.
*eyeroll*
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What? (Score:2, Insightful)
"Hella" refers to "hell", a religious term. If science is going to use religion, then it should at least use it accurately.
"Hella" is a perfectly valid prefix, but should be reserved for 10^666.
For those who aren't on Facebook... (Score:2)
The fine petition includes the following description:
Website:
http://www.wix.com/mhostore/makehellaoff [wix.com]...
http://www.makehellaofficial.blogspot.com/ [blogspot.com]
Mission:
To Whom It May Concern:
For all intents and purposes, the SI prefix system has served the scientific community extremely well since its inception. However, we believe there is one significant flaw in the system which demands immediate attentio
Guy walks into a store (Score:5, Funny)
Clerk promptly smacks him with a laptop.
"Thanks!"
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I got crumbs from my Hurtz Donut in my Hellahertz computer keyboard, this is ... really crappy.
Comic Book Says... (Score:2)
Slowest news day ever!
Greek, Latin and now... (Score:2)
So as well as using terms from some of the greatest civilizations of the past we should now honour a short-lived Southern California slang term that will have no relevance to anybody else? At least "helluva" would have made a little more sense to people that aren't living in one little area of the world.
20 year old UC Davis Student (Score:2)
I bet he smoked a hella lot of weed.
Just for fun (Score:2)
Unfortunately, google currently won't calculate in hellasmoots. Though regular smoots compute just fine.
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1 hellagram = 1.0 × 10**27 grams
1 hellabyte = 1.23794004 × 10**27 bytes
Shouldn't that last one be a hebibyte or something?
News? (Score:2)
This has been circulating since at least February.
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The Telegraph - 2nd March [telegraph.co.uk]
New Scientist - 2nd March [newscientist.com]
Fox News - 2nd March [foxnews.com]
Popsci - 3rd March [popsci.com]
Huffington Post - 2nd March [huffingtonpost.com]
The Economist - 22nd April [economist.com]
The Daily Mail - 2nd March [dailymail.co.uk]
Time - 10th March [time.com]
Etc etc.
This is an extrordinarily bad idea... (Score:5, Funny)
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Damn. Mismod. Should have been +1 Funny :-/
The is just a bold face attempt (Score:2)
to make English majors cry.
People who use Hella denote a certain level of ignorance and give fad terms more importance that actually doing thins.
Stop it. Make a name for yourself doing something.
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"People who use Hella denote a certain level of ignorance and give fad terms more importance that actually doing thins."
Huh? Did you have a stroke?
Hellabyte hard drives (Score:2)
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we may see hellabyte drives in around 70 years!
...cue class-action lawsuit from people who thought they were buying heckabyte drives but found a measly 2^89.692 bytes instead of the 2^90 they were expecting.
Hella retaaded (Score:2)
That's what this idea is.
Modest proposal? (Score:2)
Go and read some Swift, then tell me if that's an appropriate use of the phrase.
Cruel (Score:2)
My friend Hela is slightly overweight and she admits it, but all this is just cruel. Please stop equating 'Hela' with 'extreme largeness'. Thank you.
Stupid. Reject. (Score:2)
When I'm looking for something to buy locally, like a car or whatever, if I see the word 'hella' in the description, I tend to move on and ignore the item, and the poster. Most always (ok, only 95% of the time) posters who use 'hella' to describe their item are either outright liars, fakes, or too dumb to know what is wrong with their stuff. Especially when it comes to buying import cars, 'hella' is your clue they riced it out and forgot to put oil in it the last time they changed the filter, or overheate
Supported by Google Calculator, how? (Score:2)
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Hella is cool (Score:3, Funny)
Just another reason (Score:2)
this idea is .... (Score:2)
hella cool!
It's called Octillion (Score:5, Informative)
10^27 already has a name, it's called Octillion. Dag nabit! I like my numbering system the way it is! No get off my lawn!
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Not to mention that 'hella' would imply a lot of something when it really doesn't. How about going into the desert for a week with a 'hella' molecules of water?
Not very impressive.
Knuth's Potrzebie System of Weights and Measures (Score:3, Informative)
http://webofstories.com/play/17067 [webofstories.com]
Don Knuth wrote this system up, won an award for it, and got it published in MAD Magazine - all by the age of nineteen. Check and mate, Sendek!
.
Well that's just silly. (Score:2)
I prefer the proposal made some years ago to add the SI prefixes:
Chici: 10^39
Zeppi: 10^36
Gummi: 10^33
Grouchi: 10^30
Harpi: 10^27
Harpo: 10^-27
Groucho: 10^-30
Gummo: 10^-33
Zeppo: 10^-36
Chico: 10^-39
Thanks Slashdot RSS (Score:2)
Dear Slashdot,
This is goodbye for us. You used to be a friend, with clever and interesting things to say. No longer. Your tired rants about the iPhone, your increasing inclusion of Idle articles in the RSS feed... it's clear that you have drifted off into a mad, lonely world. I have no interest in reading about some young pup on facebook, or about how people lose a bit of reception in some phones in some circumstances, etc. I hope someday you realize the mistakes you have made.
Take care,
mome rath
Cant believe the Googol hasn't been mentioned (Score:2)
Nothing new here- what use is there really for a number about 1/4 of a Googol?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol
Bejillion? (Score:2)
According to my ASTP prof (many years ago), the number of hydrogen atoms in the universe is a "bejillion".
This is estimated between 10^77 and 10^82--significantly more than a "hella".
Note that in astrophysics, a precision of 3 orders of magnitude is considered exact--so, this is a good guess.
Not going to happen (Score:5, Informative)
There's already a system.
See http://www.bipm.org/en/CGPM/db/19/4/ [bipm.org] "The names zepto and zetta are derived from septo suggesting the number seven (the seventh power of 10^3) and the letter "z" is substituted for the letter "s" to avoid the duplicate use of the letter "s" as a symbol. The names yocto and yotta are derived from octo, suggesting the number eight (the eight power of 10^3); the letter "y" is added to avoid the use of the letter "o" as a symbol because it may be confused with the number zero."
Also, the order is Z, Y, so the next is X. Hence the next prefix is likely to be xona
http://www.mindspring.com/~jimvb/unitsystem.htm [mindspring.com]
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Gotta love "sorta" and "minga" :D
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You mean hellaLame. Combined, they are 2 hellaLame.
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Why do we need Hella (which is a company name) - we already have Googol.(10^100) and googolplex (10^googol) to represent fairly large numbers.
It's even possible that Hella [hella.com] will take legal action against this.
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Hence the next prefix is likely to be xona
Xona and Xena hopefully :)
Re:Not going to happen (Score:5, Funny)
10^-24: chico-
10^-27: harpo-
10^-30: groucho-
.
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Wait, is this naming for units, or the lineage of the Marx brothers? I'm confused. ;-)
Seriously, Hella is much more fun. :-P
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Also, the order is Z, Y, so the next is X. Hence the next prefix is likely to be xona
I think you misspelled 'Xena'.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Funny)
Plus, it breaks the convention of naming things after the person who discovered them.
Yeah, Mr. Liter, Dr. Meter, and Reginald the Second are going to be really steamed if this is adopted.
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FYI.