Universcale

written by Cyanide Seelowe

Universcale, a Nikon-sponsored web-based flash animation, is a fantastic comparison of size on a universal scale.

Universal, you say? That's right. This graph goes beyond mere flea-to-dog-to-human size comparisons and reaches out into the universe for both massive and minescule sizes. The scale ranges from lightyears and moves all the way back to the femtometer (1/1,000,000,000 of a micrometer) and will give you a short, educational "story" behind the measurements, creatures, items and monuments throughout at the click of a button.

If you've ever wondered how big a snowflake is compared to Jupiter, or how big a giraffe is compared to the Milky Way, Universcale will definitely give you a better perspective of these size comparisons.

The world in which we live, the universe that comprises our world. In order to better understand them, humans have assigned to them the concept of "size" so they may be comprehended by all. Nevertheless, there are actually very few things that we can see with our eyes or touch with our hands. Our curiosity brings us to use objects visible to the naked eye as yardsticks to identify those things invisible and give them new units of measurement. We are now capable of comparing and ranking these entities. We have, in fact, been given an "infinite yardstick".

By setting things up against this yardstick, observing and comparing them are we able to accurately identify their true forms. They are silent when merely observed, but spring to life when put to use in unique, creative ways.

One thing we know for certain is that they are all around us in our close vicinity.

Universcale.