Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Allan Scahill on 19/02/2009 11:30:01

Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Allan Scahill on 19/02/2009 11:30:01
Allan Scahill asked the Naked Scientists:
   
You hear a lot about the U.S. stimulus package and that it's a HUGE amount (nearly a trillion US$).

What I want to know is: If you have piles of either $1.00, $100.00 or $1000.00 dollar bills, what would this amount look like? Would it fill a football field or several of them?

Thanks
Allan Scahill

What do you think?
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 11:33:14
If you would be so kind as to supply me with 1 trillion dollar bills, I will be happy to find an answer for you.

Any demonination used $ bills will be fine.
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: dentstudent on 19/02/2009 11:38:33
So, in short-scale countries (most English speaking ones) a trillion is a million million. Say that a bill is one millimetre thick (give or take), that means 1 million per kilometre. Therefore your stack of dollar bills would be 1 million km high, or about 3 times the distance to the moon from earth.
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 11:39:31
Oh BTW, please make it US $, and no notes of a dubious nature. I don't want the filth breathing down my neck when I do a runner with arms full of dosh!
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 11:53:03
A US dollar bill is 15.5956cm x 6.6294cm x 0.010922cm

Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: dentstudent on 19/02/2009 11:57:38
Quote from: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 11:53:03
A US dollar bill is 15.5956cm x 6.6294cm x 0.010922cm



Mate, you have one accurate ruler.

I was including a gap between the bills, but fair enough, the total can be reduced a bit. Even using 0.5mm, it's still a damn long way!
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 12:11:01
Given that there would be some air between each bill, I would think a stack of 1000 $ bills would be around 30cms high.

A footy pitch (US Soccer) measures approx 100 x 75 m. = 7500 M2

A US $ bill has an area of 0.0103385 M2

Stone the crows, my calculator just ran off!

Come back ........
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Karen W. on 19/02/2009 14:06:00
Wouldn't gravity, weight, and compression of the dollar bills eliminate  the air in between the bills?

Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 14:21:39
Good point Karen, lend me a grand and I'll put this to the test!

Wow! at this rate I'll be in the news as the next Made-Off (with the loot) or Stanford (also appears to have Made-Off with the dosh). Might even get a Knighthood.

Arise Sir Don_1 ((https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbestsmileys.com%2Fwhisper%2F1.gif&hash=db918971f030faf40b08885a7e90d2fe)Psst Here's a niffty wad for your good self)
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: Karen W. on 19/02/2009 14:43:29

Lol....Lol....sorry Charlie...but I think I will wait for you....LolWhen you get it... tell me where we are going to spend it!
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: thedoc on 10/03/2009 19:03:42
Listen to the answer to this question on our podcast. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/show/2009.03.08/)
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: purplemoosejuice on 09/11/2009 04:43:50
Quote from: Don_1 on 19/02/2009 11:53:03
A US dollar bill is 15.5956cm x 6.6294cm x 0.010922cm



ummmmmm just wondering where you got this information? i am doing a project in chemistry about a mole of dollar bills, and this seems to be the only place on the internet with the dimensions of a U.S. dollar bill...
Title: How high would a pile containing a trillion dollar bills be?
Post by: neilep on 09/11/2009 14:24:52
I'm offering the same empirical study as Don1 but please remit a cheque instead.