Powers of 10 - Sizes in meters

Numbers can be written as d.ddd x10^p which means the multiplication d.ddd x 10 x 10 … x 10, where there are p copies of 10. That is, d.ddd times 10 raised to the p^th power. This amounts to moving the decimal point in d.ddd to the right by p places. 5.280x10³ is 5.280x1000 is 5280. When p is negative, the decimal point moves to the left. {Memory: when p is one, we multiply once by ten; that moves the point one place to the right. For negative p, think of the number line, negative values are to the left of zero.}

The table below gives examples of objects scaled to various powers of ten. The p column gives the power, Example names the example, Value gives its actual size, E-M l names the form of electro-magnetic (E-M) radiation whose wave length (l ) is roughly the given size.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/e1/elemparT1A1B1L1E1.asp

mass is in units of MeV/c² (=1.783× 10^-36 kg )

chg is in units of the charge on the electron (= 1.602 x 10^-19 coulombs)

Hadrons - heavyweight particles

Sample Baryons (all baryons are three quarks)

Sample Mesons (all mesons are two quarks)

Opsin does not absorb visible light, but when it is bonded with 11-cis-retinal to form rhodopsin, the new molecule has a very broad absorption band in the visible region of the spectrum. The peak of the absorption is around 500 nm [5000 Angstroms], which matches the output of the sun closely. When a photon of light falls onto rhodopsin, the molecule absorbs the energy and the cis-double-bond between C-11 and C-12 in the retinal is temporarily converted into a single bond. This means the molecule can now rotate around this bond, which it does by swivelling through 180°. The double bond then reforms and locks the molecule back into position in a trans configuration. Thus the light has isomerised the molecule from cis to trans, and as it did so, it changed the shape of the retinal from curved to straight. Essentially, the energy in a photon has been converted into atomic motion.

Whereas the 11-cis-retinal fitted into the opsin binding site perfectly, all-trans-retinal is the wrong shape. The Schiff base linkage becomes unstable, and the molecule undergoes a series of shape changes to try and better fit the binding site, before eventually breaking free of the opsin altogether. These rapid movements of the retinal are tranfered to the protein, and from there into the lipid membrane and nerve cells to which it is attached. This generates nerve impulses which travel along the optic nerve to the brain, and we perceive them as visual signals - sight. The free all-trans-retinal is then converted back into the cis form by a series of enzyme-catalysed reactions, whereupon is reattaches to another opsin ready for the next photon to begin the process again.

The formulas for the electric and magnetic fields in this wave are:

where the frequency and wavelength are related by c = f l.

"Wave Packet" version of a photon. The amplitude of the waves in the packet is close to zero everywhere but in the neighborhood of the packet.