In the red corner... The sun's core.
And in the blue corner... The Large Hadron Collider.
Round 1) Temperature
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| The Large Hadron Collider, pictured yesterday, |
However, another scientific fact I learnt a bit later on is that sub-atomic shenanigans can also produce extremely high temperatures. Scientists are always firing atoms and stuff at each other inside the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), so how does the Sun's temperature compare with some of the experiments at the LHC?
Which is the hottest? The Sun's core, or the hottest temperature recorded at the LHC?
a) The Sun's core
b) Hottest temperature recorded at the Large Hadron Collider
Answer:
Surprisingly, the Large Hadron Collider has witnessed temperatures hotter than the Sun. And not just slightly hotter. The hottest temperature recorded at the LHC is an impressive 366,667 times hotter than the Sun's core! To put that into perspective, that's an extra 5 zeroes on the end!
Answer:
a) The Sun's core - 15,000,000 C
b) Hottest temperature recorded at the Large Hadron Collider - 5,500,000,000,000 C - Hottest
Winner: Technology
Round 2) Old age
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| A baby turtle at the start of its hopefully long life. |
Of course strictly speaking, both humans and giant tortoises fall under the 'nature' category, so if you want to split hairs this is actually a 'nature versus nature' battle, and a 'technology versus nature' battle should perhaps actually see robots battling giant tortoises.
However, medical, surgical and medicinal advances have helped to extend the life expectancy of humans, so for the purposes of this round I'm arguing that human life expectancy receives a little help from technology, whereas the life expectancy of giant tortoises is totally down to nature.
Anyway, enough of the waffle. Which has the highest life expectancy; humans or giant tortoises?
a) Humans
b) Giant Tortoises
Answer:
Giant tortoises win this round quite comfortably, with a life expectancy of 100 years or more. Humans, on the other hand, check in at a mere 67 years.* This average is gradually increasing, and in 2011 the Queen sent 9,736 congratulatory messages to UK citizens celebrating their 100th birthdays**. A few lucky humans will therefore outlive giant tortoises, but on average giant tortoises can expect to live significantly longer.
* Statistics relate to the worldwide average as at the year 2010.
** Not personally obviously. She probably has people to do that sort of thing for her.
Answer:
a) Humans - 67
b) Giant Tortoises - 100 - Oldest
Winner: Nature
Round 3) Altitude
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| "You want me to fly how high!?" Please note, this is just a random bird and not a Ruppell's vulture. |
So what reaches the greatest height; the world's highest flying bird, or the world's highest flying commercial aeroplane?
a) Highest flying bird
b) Highest flying aeroplane
Answer:
The highest flying bird is a Ruppell's vulture which has been recorded at heights of up to 37,000 feet! That's 7 miles high! Typically, commercial flights will cruise at between 28-35,000 feet, but the new generation Boeing 737 is certified to 41,000 feet, so it can fly even higher than a Ruppell's vulture!
Answer:
a) Highest flying bird - 37,000 feet
b) Highest flying aeroplane - 41,000 feet - highest
Winner: Technology
Round 4) Speed
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| A close-up of a volcanic eruption taken by a brave / foolish (delete as appropriate) photographer. |
Only joking! The speed of light would be quite a challenge for formula 1 engineers to beat, so to make things a little more even I've chosen the speed of a volcanic eruption to represent nature. Lava from a volcano actually flows quite slowly at only a few miles per hour, but rocks thrown from the initial eruption travel at a much faster pace.
So which is fastest; the speed of a formula 1 car, or the typical speed of rocks thrown from a volcanic eruption?
a) Formula 1 car
b) Volcanic eruption
Answer:
The top speed recorded by a formula 1 car was 231.5 mph (372.5 kph) set by Juan Pablo Montoya at Monza during the 2005 Italian Grand Prix. When a volcano erupts explosively, rocks can be thrown from the initial eruption at speeds of over 450 mph (720 kph). That's approximately twice as fast as a formula 1 car, so this round is a comfortable victory for nature.
Answer:
a) Formula 1 car - 231.5 mph
b) Volcanic eruption - over 450 mph (720 kph) - fastest
Winner: Nature
Round 5) Optics
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| The human eye battles a camera in this final round. |
What has the highest megapixel resolution; the human eye or the world's most powerful digital camera?
a) Human eye
b) World's most powerful digital camera
Answer:
There's some debate about this, but according to clarkvision.com, a conservative estimate puts the resolution of the eye at 576 megapixels. This beats the Dark Energy Camera (attached to a telescope in Chile as part of the Dark Energy Project) which has a still impressive resolution of 570 megapixels. So when it comes to optics, nature wins!
Answer:
a) Human eye - 576 megapixels - highest
b) World's most powerful digital camera - 570 megapixels
Winner: Nature
It was a closely fought battle, but in the end nature just emerged victorius by three rounds to two! Congatulations to nature and commiserations to technology for being pipped by the narrowest of margins. Better luck next time, technology!
I like to feature 'Higher Or Lower' quizzes on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog from time to time, so if you want to read months and months of blog posts in the hope of occasionally finding one with a 'higher or lower' theme, then why not visit the Charles Fudgemuffin blog every week!
Alternatively, you can save time and click the link below to check out a Christmas themed quiz:
Christmas 'Higher Or Lower' Quiz
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