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To: snarks_when_bored
Hence life occupies no more than 3.32 billionths of a trillionth of a trillionth of the spatial volume in a sphere of radius 5 light years centered on the Earth.

And no less...

13 posted on 11/27/2004 4:25:52 PM PST by Rudder
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To: Rudder
I used a 200-mile-deep 'rind' of Earth's surface, assuming (generously) that life occupies the entire rind, which it probably doesn't. So the volume occupied by life (as far as we currently know) is probably well below the figure of 3.32 billionths of a trillionth of a trillionth of the volume of a sphere of radius 5 light years. Why radius 5 light years? Because it's pretty clear that there are no life-bearing planets between us and Proxima Centauri, which is about 5 light years away from us.

But all this doesn't 'prove' anything, of course, nor would I claim that it does. It's just aimed at giving one a feel for how miniscule (and vulnerable and [values alert!] worthy of concern and protection) is the living part of our little backwater of the cosmos.

Best regards...

14 posted on 11/27/2004 9:22:01 PM PST by snarks_when_bored
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