• Question: How long do you think the brain would be if it was streached out and why?

    Asked by gabby1996 to Carol, Ellie, John, Philip, Rebecca on 25 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Carol White

      Carol White answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      According to two scientists in 1984: the average brain is about 2500 cm2 – the size of a pillow case!

      I wonder how they worked that out! Must have been a very messy experiment…

    • Photo: John Welford

      John Welford answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      I don’t think the brain is something that should be stretched out – it’s all one lump and stretching it wouldn’t do it any good!

      The small intestine is like a long tube so maybe that is the best organ for laying out straight!? If it were then it would be about 7 metres long. I wouldn’t recommend trying it though!

    • Photo: Philip Glasson

      Philip Glasson answered on 6 Jul 2012:

      Ok lets stretch it out…….Ouch !!!

      Ok lets say …..
      5×10^14 synapses (500 trillion neurons)
      (7,000 synaptic connections to other neurons..just FYI)
      If you said an average 1 mm between neurons
      Then that 0.001meters x 500,000,000,000,000 neurons =
      =500,000,000,000 meters
      =500,000,000, Kilometers
      Which is…..
      = here to the sun and back….. TWICE !!

      Still…… Ouch !!! 😉

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