Thursday, November 19, 2009

How many 18 wheeler truck trailers would have fit into Noah's ark?

By my approximation, 298 trailers could have fit into Noah's ark. This line of trucks would stretch 4.2 miles on a highway if placed end-to-end. The line would be much longer if you allowed normal spacing for transport.

I was inspired to calculate some of this as I am reading Kevin's Roose's excellent book, "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University." Kevin writes about one of the Liberty University professors making a point that Noah's ark was 475 feet long and was akin to "a floating skyscraper." I think some people have their doubts about this. First, how could one man and his small family (three sons, wife) build this? My faith answers me: Time. Noah was 600 years old when the floods came. Now how many houses could you build if you have 600 years to live? A LOT.

And you would probably get pretty efficient and smart about it after the first few years.

Some people may doubt that the Bible is right about Noah's age, but there is some evidence that is pointing to the long lives of our ancestors. Genetic mutations often create negative consequences. Over a long period of time, those mutations can add up and cause people to be less resistant to disease. Some ancient fossils show that ancient man may have looked different because man simply lived longer and the facial appearance and stature (think stooped) would reflect these long lives.

Here are a few of the calculations and I have made the entire spreadsheet public on Google docs. Enjoy admiring God's idea and Noah's work.

Noah's Ark
Calculate the square footage and volume of the ark.

Ge 6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

Assuming a shape approaching a solid box… (for now)
Length 300
Breadth (width) 50
height 30
Cubit = 1.5 feet (length from elbow tip to fingertips)
Convert cubits to feet
Length 450
Breadth (width) 75
Height 45

Volume equals L x W x H
1,518,750.00 cubic feet
1.5 million cubic feet
Volume of a standard 18 wheeler truck trailer
length 60
width 8.5
height 10
Volume 5,100.00 cubic feet

How many fully loaded 18 wheeler trailers could fit in Noah's Ark?
298
How many miles would a line of 298 trucks stretch?
4.2

Free spreadsheet with all the formulas and data

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1 comment:

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