Stars or Transistors: Which Outnumbers the Other in Our Universe?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around comparing the number of stars in the universe to the number of MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors) produced by human civilization. Participants explore the implications of these quantities and share rough estimates and statistics related to both counts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the number of stars is likely higher than the number of MOSFETs, although they acknowledge that the latter is also a significant figure.
  • Another participant estimates the number of stars to be between 10^22 and 10^24, while providing a rough calculation of the number of MOSFETs based on the production of CPUs and other electronics, suggesting a total around 10^20.
  • A different participant argues that MOSFETs may soon outnumber stars, citing specific figures for transistors in various integrated circuits (ICs) and the large-scale production of these components.
  • One participant clarifies that they did not underestimate the star count and references a link for further information, indicating a desire for more comprehensive data.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether the number of stars or MOSFETs is greater, with no consensus reached. Some argue for the superiority of the star count, while others believe MOSFETs may soon surpass it.

Contextual Notes

Participants rely on rough estimates and assumptions regarding the production rates of MOSFETs and the total number of stars, which remains uncertain. The discussion includes varying interpretations of available data and calculations.

Kholdstare
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This thing just popped into my head last night while describing to a friend, possible end of our universe.

Which one is higher? the number of stars in our universe or the number of MOSFETs we mass-fabricated in our civilization ?

My guess is though number of stars. What do you think? (consider current number of MOSFETs should be also an intimidating number.)

Any rough statistics on this matter will also be very enlighting.
 
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The number of stars is unknown, but could be infinite.
 
Kholdstare said:
Which one is higher? the number of stars in our universe or the number of MOSFETs we mass-fabricated in our civilization ?

I think you underestimate the number of stars in universe. Supposedly there is about 10^22 -10^24 stars (see below). I don't know how many MOSFETs have people ever produced. Say a high-end CPU has a few million gates. (10^7). People have produced ~10 billion processors (10^10) so you are somewhere around 10^17, say 10^20 with other electronics, which is still a few orders less then the number of stars.

Did I get the orders right? :confused:

Wikipedia: Observable universe
 
Last edited:
On the basis of the numbers presented, MOSFETs win or soon will.

There are 6.8 billion transistors in a large FPGA. A large Intel server processor has upwards of 2.5 billion. 8 gigs of ram? More than 8 billion.

Such ICs (together with many more smaller ones) are fabricated by the billions per year and are fielded for many years.
 
@FailedLaunch - I did not underestimate star count, haha. You can read my answer in the first post.

That link was good. However, there's a much better link (arranged in tabular form) somewhere I don't remember now.
 

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