Is Infinity truly endless?
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Alexa, stop alarm. Psst, hey, smarty pants. I'm so excited. You know why? Because today is Mel Science Day, the day Mel Science delivers a science kit right to my door. Oh, that must be it. Excuse me, Luna. Watch out, Whiskers. Yeah, I got a pizza delivery for trusty narrator. Ah, yes, thanks. Ah, I forgot. I pre-ordered a pizza, which I'm also very excited about. Yes, it's my Mel Science box.

Hmm, I wonder what today's science experiment will be. Last month, I built an awesome cable-stayed bridge. And the month before, I turned my cell phone into a microscope. Okay, here we go. Oh, this month's experiment is building an infinity cube. Infinity cube? Infinity cube? What's an infinity cube? Sounds pretty awe-inspiring. After all, infinity means... Hmm, smarty pants, do you know what infinity means? Is it...

Oh boy, what's happening? Whoa, the roof of my house just flew off. There's a giant spaceship hovering over me. Now a huge dude with a giant head is walking menacingly towards me. I've come for the infinity cube. Whoa, are you Thanos? No, I'm Thanos. As in a one followed by ten zeros.

Oh. Hey, I'm still one of the biggest numbers in the universe. I mean, sure, a 1 with 10 zeros is a fairly large number. Smartypants, do you know what a 1 followed by 10 zeros is? Is it A, 1 million, B, 1 billion, or C, 10 billion? If you said 10 billion, you're right.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.

Well, 10 billion is a lot, especially if we're talking about money. It's not nearly the biggest number in the universe. In fact, even if we were talking about money, the richest person in the world has $240 billion.

And if we're just talking numbers, there's way bigger numbers than billions. You sure know how to make a guy feel small, narrator. No, no, no, you shouldn't feel small. I'm just saying there's much larger numbers out there. And if you stick around, you can help me build my Mel Science Infinity Cube while we answer cool questions like, what is infinity? Is infinity the biggest number? And is there anything bigger than infinity? I can answer those in a snap.

No, no snapping. Time for another whiff of science and history on... Who's Smarted? Who's Smarted? Who's Smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up, everyone! Smarting! Lots of fun on Who's Smarted! Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered, is there life on other planets? No!

From Disney and Pixar. Welcome to the communityverse. Allow me to adjust your gravity. Gravity off. We are not alone. Are you going to eat me? Ew, what kind of alien are you? Disney and Pixar's Elio. Rated PG. Parental guidance suggested. Only in theaters June 20th. Tickets available now. Okay, smarty pants. Call out the biggest number you can think of.

Did anyone say a gazillion billion katrillion? That was my favorite giant number growing up. There's just one problem. That number doesn't exist. Yikes! Teddos, did you just snap your fingers? No. I started putting together the infinity cube. Phew. Anyway, like I was saying, some big-sounding numbers are completely made up. Don't believe me? Let's play a game.

I'll say a word and you call out if you think it's a real or fake big number. Ready? Go. Quadrillion. Real. Octillion. Real. Bajillion. Fake. Nonillion. Real. Azillion. Fake. Vigentillion. Real. Majillion. Fake. Catrillion. Fake. How'd you do, smarty pants? Don't worry if you got any wrong. It can be tricky. What if you got them all wrong?

I'm just saying. It's okay, Tenos. We're learning.

Starting with a million, which is the same as saying 1,000,000, you've got a 1 followed by six zeros. And 1,000,000,000 equals 1,000,000,000, which is a 1 followed by nine zeros. I'm 10 O's or 10 billion. We know. There's always a 10 and 100 of each new number. For example, 10 billion and 100 billion. Smarty pants, what comes after a billion?

Did you say a trillion? Yep. Then a quadrillion. Then a quintillion. Followed by sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, and decillion. What about a Brazilian? Nope. That's someone who lives in the country of Brazil. So, smarty pants, you have all these big numbers with increasingly larger amounts of zeros after them. For example, in the U.S., a vigintillion is a 1 followed by 63 zeros.

Wow, that could take a while to write out. Exactly, which is why we don't write them out. Instead, we represent big numbers by saying 10 to the power of, and then however many zeros it is.

For example, a centillion is a 1 followed by 303 zeros. So we'd say 10 to the 303rd power. And we'd write it out by putting the number 10 and then next to it a small number 303 raised up a little bit. Hmm. It looks like the number 10 is thinking about the number 303. Exactly.

So, Smarty Pants, what do you think is the biggest number of all? Is it A, a centillion, B, a Google, or C, something else? If you said a Google, you are wrong. Sorry. I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, but to fall nonetheless. Um, yeah. Anywho...

A Google, which is represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeros, is certainly a big number. Google, the search engine you might use to look things up on the internet, is actually an intentionally misspelled version of the huge number Google. By the way, Google the number is spelled G-O-O-G-O-L, while Internet Google is spelled G-O-O-G-L-E. I didn't come for a spelling lesson. I came for the infinity cube.

Hang on, Budget Thanos. Google, the number, was defined in 1929 by American mathematician Edward Kasner and named by Kasner's nine-year-old nephew, Milton. Oh. Really? How do you know that? I Googled it. As big and cool as Google sounds, it's not the biggest. Remember, a centillion is a one followed by 303 zeros. So a centillion is the biggest number? What do you think, Smarty Pants?

If you said nope, you're right. The biggest known number is called a googolplex. Googolplex. That sounds fittingly huge. Yep, a googolplex is a 1 followed by writing zeros until you get tired. That's an old math joke. The truth is, you can't write out a googolplex. Of course I can. I'm Thanos. I am inevitable. Inevitable.

And also capable of writing out big numbers. Nope. Despite knowing that a Googleplex is a one followed by a Google zeros, no person or computer in the universe could ever write it out in full. That's because there isn't enough room in the entire universe to write down all the digits in a Googleplex. Whoa. A number that's bigger than the universe. I must possess it.

Good luck with that. But here's the crazy thing. We also know that an infinite amount of even larger numbers exist. What? For example, mathematician Ronald Graham came up with a number in 1971 known as Graham's number that's even bigger than the Googleplex. While it, too, is also literally too big to write. We know this number is divisible by three and ends in a seven. Let me guess. You Googled that, too. I sure did.

Okay, enough with other large numbers. The biggest number in existence is the one I came for. Infinity! Quit stalling and build the Infinity Cube so I can use it to restore balance to the universe. No. No? You dare defy Thanos? I meant, no. Infinity is not the biggest number in existence. What?

There's something bigger than infinity? I'll tell you the answer right after this quick break. Make it snappy. No, no snapping.

Psst! Hey, smarty pants! If you're enjoying this episode and want to get your hands on your very own Infinity Cube and other great math and science experiments, sign up for MEL Science. That's right! MEL Science delivers amazing experiments right to your door! But shh! Don't tell Thanos! Best of all, you can sign up for a full year, six months, or just one month!

But no matter what plan you pick, get ready for lots of learning and fun about science, just like we do with Who Smarted? Go to MELScience.com, that's M-E-L Science dot com, and use code INFINITY for 50% off your first month. Get science sent right to your door today. Just watch out for Thanos.

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According to my new friend, Tenos, the largest number in existence is... Infinity. Infinity is the largest number, and once I possess the Infinity Cube, I will in effect possess infinity. Well, I'm gonna have to stop you right there. You think you can stop Tenos? Oh, not just me. The Avengers? Are they going to assemble to out-math me? I mean, Tony Stark's pretty good at math...

But that's just it. Infinity is not the largest number. No. There's nothing larger than infinity. However, infinity is not the largest number. That makes no sense.

Smarty pants, do you know why? It's because infinity isn't a number. Then what is infinity? Infinity is an idea. An idea of something without an end. It cannot be measured, and it's not a number. Reality is often disappointing.

Smarty pants. Do you know what symbol is used to represent infinity? It looks like a number you all know, only lying on its side. Is it a three, a six, or an eight? Did you say an eight? Great job! Infinity is represented by a figure eight because it has no beginning and no end. It just goes on and on and on and on. So it's growing. Nope. Infinity is already fully formed. Infinity doesn't do anything. It just is growing.

Smarty Pants, true or false? Infinity only relates to large numbers. The answer is false. Not only are there an infinite amount of larger and larger numbers, but there are also an infinite amount of tiny numbers that are close to zero.

not zero. The word infinite is related to the word infinitesimal, which means immeasurably small. I see. So there is a balance between big and small numbers. Yes, but that's not all. Smarty Pants, how many numbers are there between one and two? Did you say none? None.

Some of you might be thinking of fractions or decimals like one and a half or 1.5. That's great, but guess what? The answer is there is an infinite amount of numbers between one and two. Whoa. For example, there's 1.1, 1.11, 1.111, 1.111, and on and on and on until the universe is entirely filled with ones.

I want them. I want all those ones. Sorry, you can't have them all, because there's no end to them. So now what? Narrators, assemble this infinity cube from Mel Science. This cube is filled with little lights that seem to go on forever. No matter which way I turn the cube, it looks endless, limitless...

Infinite. It's also a cool little lamp.

Tell you what, I'll give you a choice. The hardest choices require the strongest wills. Right. You can either have the Infinity Cube or I'll sign you up for Mel Science so you can get your own Infinity Cube and lots more awesome science delivered right to your door or spaceship or wherever. Really? Just like that? Yep. It's a snap.

Hey, half my pizza's gone. I ate it when you weren't looking. Oh, snap. Hey, smarty pants. Once again, to get tons of cool math and science experiments like the Infinity Cube delivered right to your home, check out MELScience.com. That's M-E-L-Science dot com. And get 50% off your first month by using code INFINITY.

An overseas shout out to Smarty fan Ethan in Ireland. Thanks so much for smarting with us. We're so glad you think Who Smarted is the best podcast to listen to before bed. And we're glad to know it's making you smarter. Keep on smarting, Smarty Pants. This episode, Infinity, was written by Adam Saxillion Davis and voiced by Chris Wano-Okawa and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hundredmillion-Hahn. Who

Who Smarted? is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Centrillion Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Septilian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis. Who Smarted? was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production. Who Smarted?