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Last active December 19, 2016 18:11
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An example of the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit integer.
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LightDistanceCalc.md

Light Distance Calculation: 32-bit vs. 64-bit

Some Facts

Maximum Positive Signed 32-bit Integer: (2^31) - 1 = 2,147,483,647

Maximum Positive Signed 64-bit Integer: (2^63) - 1 = 9,223,372,036,854,775,807

Speed of Light: 299,792,458 m/s

If an integer were tracking meters in real time:

32-bit Calculation

In seconds: 2,147,483,638 m / 299,792,458 m/s = 7.16323436662 s

64-bit Calculation

In seconds: 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 m / 299,792,458 m/s = 30,765,857,481.5 s

In minutes: 30,765,857,481.5 s / 60 s/min = 512,764,291.358 mins 

In hours: 512,764,291.358 mins / 60 mins/hour = 8,546,071.52264 hours 

In days: 8,546,071.52264 hours / 24 hours/day = 356,086.313443 days 

In years: 356,086.313443 days / 365.25 days/year = 974.911193547 years

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