Mark Salata: How taking a bath led to Archimedes' principle

Just How Small Is an Atom? - Jonathan Bergmann Whether we’re zooming in to the wavelength of a gamma ray or zooming out to the size of a galaxy, it can be difficult to wrap our heads around the big numbers we’re measuring—like nanometers (10-9meters) or gigameters (109). Take a look at these efforts to represent big numbers. What are the strengths of each? How would you represent a large number (like a gigameter)?