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wasoxygen  ·  501 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I feel like we need to talk about AI language models

    How would you Fermi estimate the number of electrons in an Apple, with an example?

A Fermi estimate is a method of making a rough, order-of-magnitude estimate of a quantity based on a set of known or assumed values. To make a Fermi estimate of the number of electrons in an apple, you would need to know the size of the apple, its chemical composition, and the number of electrons in an atom of each element that makes up the apple.

For example, let's say that the apple is about the size of a tennis ball, which is about 6.5 centimeters in diameter. The chemical composition of an apple is mostly water, with some carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, so a tennis ball-sized apple would contain approximately 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 x (3 x 2) = 8,288 hydrogen atoms and 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 x 1 = 1,981 oxygen atoms.

Hydrogen atoms have one proton and one electron, so the apple would contain approximately 8,288 x 1 = 8,288 electrons from the hydrogen atoms. Oxygen atoms have 8 protons and 8 electrons, so the apple would contain approximately 1,981 x 8 = 15,848 electrons from the oxygen atoms.

In total, the tennis ball-sized apple would have approximately 8,288 + 15,848 = 24,136 electrons. However, this is just a rough estimate and the actual number of electrons in an apple could be different. There are also other elements present in an apple, such as carbon, nitrogen, and various minerals, which would add additional electrons to the total. So, the actual number of electrons in an apple could be significantly higher than the Fermi estimate.