American Journal of Physics 54(9), pp. 816-817.
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9505 DOI: 10.1119/1.14453
Abstract: I answer the question ``Why are there more small things in the world than large things?'' in terms of a probabilisitc model of partitioning a conserved quantity. Benford's empirical rule for lists of numbers, that the proportion of numbers with first digit m is log10(m+1)–log10 m, is an exact consequence of the model.
Bibtex:
@article{,
title={On the numbers of things and the distribution of first digits},
author={Lemons, Don S},
journal={American Journal of Physics},
volume={54},
number={9},
pages={816--817},
year={1986},
publisher={American Association of Physics Teachers},
DOI={http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.14453},
}
Reference Type: Journal Article
Subject Area(s): General Interest