FunFact #2: Folding a piece of paper untill you reach the MOON!
In this short FunFact article I calculate how many times you have to fold a single piece of paper to reach the moon!
So to start, a single piece of printingpaper has a thickness of 0.1 mm. That is the same as 0.0000001 km.
The distance to the moon is 384,400 km.
Every time you fold a piece of paper it becomes double as thick as it was before, so to calculate how many times you have to fold the paper, you need to use an exponential formula:
Y= a*b^X
a is your starting value (0.0000001 km)
b is your growing factor (2, because every time you fold the paper, it becomes 2 times thicker).
Y is the thickness you have after you fold it x times.
So our formula becomes:
Y=0.0000001*2^X
However it is better to write the formula the other way around, because x is the variable you want to calculate. So:
Y/0.0000001=2^X
X= 2log ( Y/0.0000001)
We know our Y-value = 384,400. So we can calculate:
X = 2log (384,400/0.0000001) = 41.8.
You cannot fold a piece of paper .8 times, so you will need to fold it 42 times!
So to conclude, you need to fold a single piece of printingpaper 42 times to reach the moon. Not as much as you expected right???
If you liked this article, check out my previous FunFact:
FunFact #1: https://steemit.com/nature/@awesomebiology/the-biggest-organism-in-the-world-is
Image source: https://www.quora.com/Can-we-connect-the-Moon-and-Earth-via-a-cable
Sounds like a good plan but imagine what a huge piece of paper you would have to use. That is if it is even possible to fold it that many times. I think the record for folding a sheet is 12 times. Generally only about 7 times. Might be better to cut the sheet in half and repeat until you have 2^41 pieces and then stack them very very carefully. Best to do this when there is no wind. 😀
Haha love the reply! You defenitely would need a piece of paper bigger than the surface of the earth. I like your plan better though!
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