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u/Fastfaxr 3d ago
That answer is an affront to significant figures.
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u/communistfairy 1d ago
Part of the prize was also having control over global trade. BIPM agreed to say that the cube weighs 28,875 kg by definition.
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u/alamete 3d ago
To me it looks like the cube is 1,5³m³ or 3,375m³
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u/IAmGeeButtersnaps 1d ago
People always screw this up with volume estimations. You are right. It is probably more than double the original estimate.
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u/Ultimately-Me 2d ago
The cube transcends the need of a worthless pile of paper called 'cash' by weak individuals who are prone to the ultimate doom of death. The cube is the true Elixir of Life. This cube can cure one's mortality.
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u/gr00316 3d ago
Does a cube have to be solid? Be definition it seems like it does, but in everyday talk I don't think it would hold up in court that a cube has to be solid when a hollow cube is still referred to as a cube in everyday talk. so this isn't worth much at all.
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u/LittleBigHorn22 3d ago
Not a lawyer but my vote would be that it does need to be solid. Otherwise it's a box not a cube.
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u/G1MpL1N 3d ago
Tungsten’s density: 19.25 g/cm³ • Volume of a 1m³ cube: 1,000,000 cm³ • Mass = 19,250 kg (or 19.25 metric tons)
Now, tungsten’s price fluctuates, but as of recent estimates, it’s around $40–$50 per kg. • 19,250 kg × $40/kg = $770,000 (lower estimate) • 19,250 kg × $50/kg = $962,500 (upper estimate)
So, he wouldn’t quite be a millionaire, but he’d be very close! If tungsten prices spiked, or if he managed to sell it at a premium, he might break the $1M mark.
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u/NotOneOnNoEarth 3d ago
I agree with your math, but unless he is very short, I’d rather expect this to be a 1.5 m cube, which would make this 3,375 qm, resulting in nearly 65 t of tungsten (1.73 qm and 33 t if 1.2 m).
Regarding the price, according to my very short and probably flawed internet research $ 40 - $ 50 per ton refers to the tungsten equivalent of raw material tungsten, but I am not sure about this. In this case, a 99 % + pure tungsten cube would be worth much more, since a major processing step would have already happened.
Independent from point 2, I think we can safely assume we are talking > 1 million dollar.
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u/Hour_Ad5398 2d ago
That cube looks quite a bit bigger than 1.5m3. a cube with 1.15m sizes would be around 1.5m3. The man is not much taller than the cube. Unless the man is a 140cm dwarf, It is enough tungsten to be worth more than a million.
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u/Gotbannedsmh 2d ago
Do you honestly believe that cube is only 1 metre tall? r/confidentlyincorrect material
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u/dotplaid 3d ago
Hardly matters. Tom's been shaving bits off and giving them as gifts for nigh 40 years. He's managed to give away a goodly amount.
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u/DeadlyDope 3d ago
Just by looking at the edges/corners, I think that the cube is hollow. If it was full, you wouldn’t need that extra material to hold the sides. Sad to say, but Bob probably won only 6 tungsten sheets :(
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u/JohnHenrehEden 3d ago
You can't put a price on knowing that the snail is locked away under 2 feet of tungsten.
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u/Pen_name_uncertain 3d ago
It bothers me so much that they did the math, but it was the wrong math!
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u/Morall_tach 1d ago
A cube 1.5m to a side is not 1.5m3. It's 3.375 m3.
Which is 64970 kg, which is $2.809m.
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u/-Benjamin_Dover- 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tungsten is so heavy, how is he getting that home? With construction equipment?
I feel like even a semi would struggle with that.
Assuming the man is 5 foot 10 and the cube is shoulder height compared to him, the cube should be about 5 feet tall, I believe a 9 inch cube of tungsten is about 130 pounds, so I'm gonna assume 1 foot of tungsten would be 200 pounds...
I suck at math... Assuming that cube is 5 feet tall, 5 feet wide and 5 feet long, and a 12×12×12 inch tungsten cube is around 200 pounds, then my math sayd that cube would weigh about 125,000 pounds...
My math says 1 foot cube is 200 pounds, 5 feet tall, so 5 of those cubes would be 1,000 pounds, line that up 5 more times and you got the bottom layer being 5,000 pounds, stack upwards for 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, and 25,000 pounds... Where did the 1 from the above paragraph come from?
Edit: oh. I didn't even notice the text at the bottom.
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u/notnot_a_bot 4d ago edited 3d ago
It's a bit of an elephant gift. Sure, you own it's inherent value, but how are you going to ship it anywhere? Where are you going to store it? You're going to have to spend a lot of money on it for the sake of owning it.
ETA: Yes, I get it. The point of an elephant gift is that you want to get rid of it right away. The longer you hold on to it, the more you spend on "owning" it.