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To: dr_lew
2 light minutes per inch, per the scale you specified (orbit of earth drawn as a circle on 8 1/2 x 11 paper).

Multiply by 60 to get light seconds per scale inch.

Multiply by C (speed of light) to get answer in whatever unit of measure you use for C. I use 186000 miles per second. Multiply by the paper line width. That's the width of the line, to scale.

Cook math. Order of magnitude. Close enough. I don't launch Mars orbiters, and if I did, I'd keep the units the same, even if we were using furlongs per fortnight.

/johnny

37 posted on 10/28/2012 11:25:54 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper
Multiply by C (speed of light) to get answer in whatever unit of measure you use for C. I use 186000 miles per second. Multiply by the paper line width. That's the width of the line, to scale.

You're scaling the line up to "actual size", with units unspecified, which begs the question. That question is namely, what is the ratio of the major and minor axes of earth's orbit? and how does it compare with the ratio of an 0.5 mm pencil line to an 8" diameter drawn circle?

40 posted on 10/28/2012 11:40:09 PM PDT by dr_lew
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