The English language is full of words to size up things – from millilitres to square metres to even lightyears, we can measure the smallest ant and the distance to the furthest galaxy we are aware of.
Click start to play today’s Word Search and find all the units!
But just how small is the smallest unit of measurement? There is a precise number for the smallest possible size for anything in the universe and it’s called the Planck Length: 1.6x10-35m. Basically, if you were to write it out, the decimal point would be followed by 34 zeroes and a one.
According to the Guinness World Records website (yes, it actually holds a record for ‘smallest unit of length’), Planck Length estimates the scale at which quantum foam is believed to exist. Space has a fast-changing, foam-like structure caused by minute wormholes rapidly opening and closing. If humans could exploit the incredible energy of quantum foam, the power contained within one cubic centimetre of empty space would be enough to boil Earth’s oceans. Talk about packing a punch!
Other measurement terms that exist but may not find their way into daily conversations include the mickey. Equivalent to approximately 0.1mm, it is the smallest detectable movement of a mouse cursor on a screen.
In nuclear physics, a shake is an informal unit of time, equivalent to 10 nanoseconds. It originated during World War II as part of top-secret projects involving the timing of various events in a nuclear explosion.
And if you ever hear the word smoot as a measurement unit, it is based on Oliver R. Smoot, who lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge in Boston, US, in 1958, so that his fraternity brothers could measure the length of the bridge with his height. In 2011, smoot became one of the 10,000 new words added to the American Heritage Dictionary.
Can you find all the units of measurement in today’s Word Search? Let us know if you enjoyed it at games@gulfnews.com.
