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Size of Life

neal.fun

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Re: Size of Life

#191

Post by selcuka »

elicash wrote: post #27
jphoward wrote: post #6

It seems to be like some of the scales slightly off? If you are looking at the ladybird (ladybug) with the amoeba to the left, the amoeba isn't an order of the magnitude smaller - it would actually be visible by the human eye (bigger than a grain of sand)? Indeed, the amoeba seems the same size as the ladybird's foot? Similarly, this makes the bumblebee appear smaller than a human finger (the in the adjacent picture)…

I came to the comments to express surprise that amoebas were so large. It appears they vary wildly in size (as small as 2.3 micrometers... but up to 20 cm, or nearly 8 inches). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoeba#Size_range

I got surprised by that too, and while comparing its size to the next organism (Tardigrade) I learned that every member of the same species of tardigrades has the exact same number of cells [1], which was even more surprising for me:

> Eutelic organisms have a fixed number of somatic cells when they reach maturity, the exact number being relatively constant for any one species. This phenomenon is also referred to as cell constancy. Development proceeds by cell division until maturity; further growth occurs via cell enlargement only.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutely

Re: Size of Life

#192

Post by chrisweekly »

compiler-guy wrote: post #131
modeless wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man I played Operation Neptune a lot when I was a kid. I wonder if it was the first game to do this style of adaptive music layering. It predates the iMUSE system used in LucasArts games like X-Wing and TIE Fighter. For anyone curious, you can actually play it here: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Super_Solvers_Operation_Ne...

The arcade classic Space Invaders had a primitive soundscape in that every time the remaining invaders advance, it plays a short bass note. As fewer and fewer invaders remain, it takes less time for them to advance, and the note repeats faster and faster, it adds a remarkable amount of increasing tension as each level progresses. So not exactly the same, but perhaps prototypical. I think Asteroids did as well.

That reminds me of the music in the film "Inception", in which the extremely low-register bass-heavy music in the background of scenes from lower levels of dream-in-dream is actually the main score, played back dramatically (and semantically / thematically) slower and lower.

Re: Size of Life

#194

Post by the-mitr »

One of the books that got me introduced to this fascinating aspect of our natural world is John Tyler Bonner's Size and Cycle. It has features amazing log-log plots of how different organisms from grow with time: from eggs to full-grown organisms. This kind of visualisation gives you a different perspective on growth and scale

For example, Sequoia gigantea Sequoia is the largest tree and can be effectively compared to the annual plant shown above. Fertilization and the early growth to the seed stage are essentially similar, but because of the cambium and the possibility of secondary thickening, the size of the tree can increase enormously. As can be seen from Figure 1 in the text, the sequoia does not begin to set seed until it is sixty years old and eighty meters tall.

https://postimg.cc/hfdGGJ8H

Re: Size of Life

#195

Post by vanderZwan »

chrismorgan wrote: post #55

The dynamic soundscape is delightful, as it subtly adds instruments and musical texture as you progress. And going back down the scale regresses it to simple again. Smoothly done. It reminded me of Operation Neptune (1991): each level starts with just one channel, probably percussion, and as you progress through the rooms it adds and removes more channels or sometimes switches to a different section of music. It is u…

So I guess Operation Neptune was the inspiration for UFO 50s Porgy?

https://ufo50.miraheze.org/wiki/Porgy

Re: Size of Life

#196

Post by margalabargala »

dartharva wrote: post #187
milancurcic wrote: post #31

Neal delivers. I recently learned that viruses are not considered living being, but I'm nevertheless happy they're included here because they're both relevant and interesting in this context.

Hey, if they originated naturally and interact with the environment and reproduce, they are living beings. Mere human taxonomists can't just "classify" away the fact.

Are crystalline structures alive?

Re: Size of Life

#197

Post by kretaceous »

Interesting things from this:

- Smallest animal: Myxobolus Shekel. Smaller than a WBC at 10 micrometeres.

- Biggest butterfly: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing. Bigger than human brain at 18cm.

- Largest insect to ever live: Meganeura (283 MYA). At 40cm long, a dragonfly larger than a house cat.

- Rafflesias are larger than German Shepherds

- Earth's largest crab: Japanese Spider Crab. 1m, legs pan of 3.75m. More than half the size of a human.

- Always thought Mososaurs were largest animal to ever live but it's the Blue whale at 26m. I don't think I ever appreciated how unfathomably huge they are. (The largest Mosasaur found was 13m. There's a speculated size of 17m as well.)

- World's largest living tree: Hyperion - a giant redwood in california at 115m.

Love seeing something so polished and inspiring. Amazing illustrations and even better music.

Thanks Neal for these projects!

Re: Size of Life

#199

Post by [deleted] »

vanderZwan wrote: post #195
chrismorgan wrote: post #55

The dynamic soundscape is delightful, as it subtly adds instruments and musical texture as you progress. And going back down the scale regresses it to simple again. Smoothly done. It reminded me of Operation Neptune (1991): each level starts with just one channel, probably percussion, and as you progress through the rooms it adds and removes more channels or sometimes switches to a different section of music. It is u…

So I guess Operation Neptune was the inspiration for UFO 50s Porgy ? https://ufo50.miraheze.org/wiki/Porgy

[deleted]

Re: Size of Life

#200

Post by oasisbob »

echelon wrote: post #177
setgree wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has many other cool visualizations! Space Elevator: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45640226 Deep Sea: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21850527

I love Neal's work so much. He's constantly making some of the coolest stuff on the web. I'm utterly delighted every time I see his domain on the front page of HN. I hope he never stops making these art pieces - everything he creates brings joy, regardless of whether it's educational or funny or whimsical. I'm in awe of his creative output, his manner of communication, and his ability to steal hours of our time playi…

The dimensioning of DNA was an immediate turn-off for me. A common biochemistry demo is to show how long and macroscopically visible a chromosome can be. Saying DNA is 3.5 nm tall (long?) flies in the face of what is a pretty interesting and notable experience for a lot of people.

It essentially starts the whole project with a weird take on "How long is a piece of string?"

> In theory, you could create a polymer of infinite length (or height).

Works pretty well in practice too.

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