Kit Yates, a British mathematician, calculated the volume of COVID-19 presently in the world. It turns out that if you gathered up every speck of the virus, you could fit them all inside of a coke can. This thought experiment really demonstrates the power of these little viruses to disrupt the world.
Yates used published rates of COVID-19 for his calculation.
We have global rates of COVID-19 infections based both on confirmed cases and estimated level of undetected cases. We also have an idea of how many viruses are created on average per infection. Using this information, he determined that there are two quintillion – two billion billion – COVID-19 viruses in the world given our current rate of infection.
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He used this information to calculate the volume of worldwide COVID-19.
Each COVID-19 virus has a diameter of about 100 nanometers or 100 billionths of a meter. He used this information to determine the volume of the viruses. Since the virus has a spiky looking crown, he did have to factor in the additional room each virus would take. Based on these calculations, Yates determined that the viruses would fit in a 330 ml can. The typical coke can holds 355 ml.
This visualization gave him a new perspective on the impact of the disease.
He said in a statement, “It’s astonishing to think that all the trouble, the disruption, the hardship and the loss of life that has resulted over the last year could constitute just a few mouthfuls.”
What amounts to a pop can of toxic materials has killed over 2.34 million people worldwide. Hopefully, as we overcome this disease, we do not forget that only a little amount of disease is needed to prime another pandemic.
h/t: Reuters
