Understanding a trillion
It is hard to grasp a Trillion, which is a thousand billion, in numbers 1,000,000,000,000 – but it becomes easier to think of it in terms of time, because then we can get an idea of how the progression works:
• One million seconds equates to 11 ½ days
• One billion seconds equates to 31.7 years
• One trillion seconds equates to 31,700 years.
Now we have a realistic idea about the magnitude of the global arms budget, which is currently pushing up against $3 Trillion.
