Thakur, Soumendra. (2023). The Planck scale limits our sensual perception. 10.32388/5PI8C5.
The definition discusses the complex relationship between our sensory perception, especially as it relates to the physical world, and theoretical concepts related to the Planck scale. The Planck scale, denoted by the Planck length and Planck time, represents fundamental limits beyond which our direct sensory experiences cannot extend. Although beyond our direct perception, these Planck units are derived from empirical constants and are integral to theoretical physics for exploring the universe at extreme scales. The definition traces the contrast between actual sensory encounters and abstract concepts arising from these fundamental constants, underscoring their empirical basis. The definition also highlights the potential limitations of our current scientific model and the existence of unknown aspects of the universe.
It concludes by emphasizing the deep interplay between the physical world, theoretical constructs, and our understanding of reality, thus incorporating key concepts of definition.
Planck units
Speed of light | c = 299792458 ms-1 |
Gravitational constant | G = 6.673(10) x 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 |
Plank’s constant | = h/2π = 1.054571596(82) x 10-34 kg m2 s-1 |
Unit | Scale | Comment |
Planck length | 1.616 x 10−35 m | If a particle or dot about 0.1 mm in size (the diameter of human hair) were magnified in size to be as large as the universe, then inside that universe-sized dot, the Planck length would be roughly the size of an 0.1 mm dot. In other words, it would take more Planck lengths to span a grain of sand than it would take grains of sand to span the observable universe. |
Planck mass | 2.176 x 10−8 kg | An object of such mass would be a quantum black hole created at Planck time, with a Schwarzschild diameter of Planck length. This paper attempts to explain why the Planck mass is so large compared to other fundamental particles. Each time the indivisible particles that make an electron (for example) have travelled the reduced Compton wavelength of the electron, they counter-strike. The electron is therefore in a mass state only a fraction of the time. This is why the Planck mass can be so enormous compared to the electron rest-mass and still make up the electron as well as any other subatomic particle. The number of uncertain transitions between mass and energy for an electron is 7.76 x 1020 times per second. An electron is only 9.109 x 10-31 kg, or 2.389x1022 particles per Planck mass. |
Planck time | 5.391 x 10−44 s | In the Big Bang, the Planck epoch or Planck era is the earliest stage before the time passed was approximately 10−43 seconds. |
Planck temperature | 1.417 x 1032 K (kelvin) | It's a billion billion times the highest natural temperatures in the current universe, found in gamma-ray bursts and quasars. This is absolute hot, conceived as an opposite to absolute zero. Everything 5×10−44 seconds after the Big Bang. Kugelblitzes. |
Planck area | 10−70 m2 | Planck length squared. According to the Bekenstein bound, the entropy of a black hole is proportional to the number of Planck areas that it would take to cover the black hole's event horizon. |
Planck volume | 10−105 m3 | Planck length cubed. A quantum black hole is contained within a Planck volume. There are about 10186 Planck volumes in the universe. |
Planck energy | 109 J (joules) | A quantum black hole must have Planck mass and Planck energy such that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light. |
Planck energy density | 10-29 g/cm3 | Analogous to Planck's law which describes the spectral density of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a black body. |
Planck charge | 10−18 C (coulombs) | The electric potential energy of one Planck charge on the surface of a sphere that is one Planck length in diameter is one Planck energy, |
Planck force | 1044 N (newtons) | The amount of force required to accelerate one Planck mass by one Planck acceleration |
Planck density | 1096 kg/m3 | Equivalent to the mass of the universe packed into the volume of a single atomic nucleus. |
Planck pressure | 10113 Pa (pascals) | Equal to one Planck force in one Planck area. It is the gravitational force of attraction between two equal sized universes all concentrated on one fourth of Planck Area. |
Planck acceleration | 1051 m/s2 | The acceleration due to gravity at the surface of a Planck mass or quantum black hole. |
Planck frequency | 1043 /s | Upper bound for the frequency (vibrations per second) of an electromagnetic wave. |