tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post6808690625136549998..comments2023-09-04T01:31:11.524-07:00Comments on Adventures in nonsense: A quick maths quizSimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14195003492084088327noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-88744308858380195682009-12-08T09:44:50.797-08:002009-12-08T09:44:50.797-08:00Hi Dr Nancy Malik! Fancy seeing you here.
Still n...Hi Dr Nancy Malik! Fancy seeing you here.<br /><br />Still not want to stand by your <a href="http://www.thinkhumanism.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2871" rel="nofollow">promise</a> of proving you can tell the difference between water and one of your magic homeopathic potions? No? Didn't think so.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-48165094108758439302009-12-08T09:38:56.229-08:002009-12-08T09:38:56.229-08:00Homeopathy cures even when Conventional Allopathic...Homeopathy cures even when Conventional Allopathic Medicine (CAM) failsDr,noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-65707736299925163172009-12-02T02:42:44.269-08:002009-12-02T02:42:44.269-08:00Answers to the quiz are up on my blogAnswers to the quiz are up on my blogSimonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195003492084088327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-51336775281484872732009-12-01T18:26:05.758-08:002009-12-01T18:26:05.758-08:00I disagree with Paul and Zeno's answers to the...I disagree with Paul and Zeno's answers to the first question. 1 molecule in 10^60 is from the original solution, but by Zeno's calculation, there are 1/1273 mol of molecules ( = 6.02*10^23/1273 molecules)in the final drop, so the chance of there being a single molecule from the original solution is 1 in 10^60/ (6.02*10^23/1273) i.e. 1 in 2*10^39. Zeno gives this as "2.11E+39 pills for 1 molecule of substance" so his calculation is correct, he just selected the wrong number as his answer for question 1.<br /><br />BUT the original solution often has very little 'active ingredient' - it's often extract, sometimes of an insoluble substance, so the answer to Simon's question varies from 1 in 2*10^39 to perhaps 1 in 10^48 (mother extract being 1 part per billion), with a typical value of probably 1 in 10^41 (1-2% solution)<br />So Simon has chosen his question carefully - you are more liklely to win the lottery 5 times in a row (starting with the next time you enter) than you are to have a single molecule of the active ingredient in a 30C pill, but may be less likely to win it 6 times in a row, depending on the mother tincture.<br /><br />Of course in the U.S. they destroyed people's sense of smell with a 1X 'homeopathic' cold remedy that was around 33 millimolar zinc gluconate <a rel="nofollow"> cited here</a> which I make to be about 0.2% zinc by weight.davidphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06058558502885513909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-81984087152457084972009-12-01T15:46:10.383-08:002009-12-01T15:46:10.383-08:00Sorry, the link should be:
Zeno's answers.Sorry, the link should be:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zenosblog.com/files/Simon's%20quick%20maths%20quiz.pdf" rel="nofollow">Zeno's answers</a>.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-56338289986999303002009-12-01T15:44:46.807-08:002009-12-01T15:44:46.807-08:00See Zeno's answers.
Some slightly different a...See <a href="www.zenosblog.com/files/Simon's%20quick%20maths%20quiz.pdf" rel="nofollow">Zeno's answers</a>.<br /><br />Some slightly different assumptions to Paul, but very similar answers.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959094372836804855.post-13393928488812759372009-12-01T14:35:01.163-08:002009-12-01T14:35:01.163-08:001) a 30C dilution means that one portion of the ac...1) a 30C dilution means that one portion of the active ingredient is diluted 100 fold (i.e. 10^2), 30 times. So each time you dilute it,by a hundred fold, add another two zeroes on to the end of the dilution factor,ending up with a dilution of 1 part of the original in every 10^60.<br /><br />2) the probability of wining the UK National Lottery is 1 in 13,983,816, so the chance of winning the lottery 5 times in a row is the above fraction to the power of 5, in other words (1/13983816)^5, or 1.8701287 × 10^-36<br /><br />You are more likely to win the lottery 5 times in a row than find a molecule of the active ingredient.<br /><br />3) Assume 2 * 10^22 molecules of water in a drop (see http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_water_molecules_are_in_one_drop_of_water)<br /><br />Assume a pill contains one drop of active ingredient.<br /><br />So, if you have a 30C dilution, you'll need 10^60 moleclues of water to get one molecule of ingredient,but a pill only contains 2 * 10^22. So actually, you'll need 10^60/(2*10^22) pills to get one molecule, i.e. 5.0 × 10^37 pills.<br /><br />At 4.99/84 a pill (around 5p a pill), it will cost you 5 * 10^37 * 4.99 /84 = £2.9702381 × 10^36<br /><br />or approx 3 trillion trillion trillion pounds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com