When the threat of the Novel Coronavirus started to rise in Wuhan back in early January, people did not think that it will take the shape of a pandemic as we have now. Why? I hear you ask. Well, it is because of the phrase “exponential growth”. We often hear this term, but do not completely understand it. So, to help people understand the concept and how it triggered the Coronavirus to become a pandemic, a YouTube channel specialising in VFX has made an interesting video.
Now, the first example that the creators provided involved sheets of paper increasing exponentially. They started off with two sheets of paper and asked viewers how many sheets would they have if they had 2 to the power 100 (2^100) sheets of paper. The number 2^100 looks quite small on paper, however, you would be actually surprised to find the answer to that. Let me give you a hint. If you stack 2^30 sheets of paper, you’ll reach the Moon!
In another example, the creators asked the question “How long would it take for a water droplet (contains approximately 0.05ml) that doubles every minute to fill up the Grand Canyon?”. Well, we know that this water droplet will fill up the entire area of Grand Canyon eventually. However, if you are thinking that it will take years to achieve that feat, think again!
