A View from the Back of the Envelope top

Volume
m3
Scale of some things
Landmarks
Length Area Volume
[ Scale | Other ]
Rough Draft

Conversions

unit m3
parsec3 1049 × 2.938
mile3 1010 × 0.417
km3 109 × 1.000
acre·ft 103 × 1.234
cord 101 × 0.362 128 ft3 of firewood
yd3 100 × 0.7646
barrel 10-1 × 1
barrel (oil) 10-1 × 1.590
bushel 10-2 × ~3
ft3 10-2 × 2.832
gallon 10-2 × 0.3785 US liquid
pint 10-3 × ~0.5
board ft 10-3 × 2.360
liter 10-3 × 1
quart 10-3 × ~1
cup 10-4 × 2.366
ounce 10-5 × ~2.9
in3 10-5 × 1.639
tablespoon 10-5 × 1.479
teaspoon 10-5 × 0.4929
10 ×
10 ×
10 ×
10 ×

mile3 = 4.17 km3
m3 = 1000 liters
m3 = 264.2 gal
m3 = 35.31 ft3
=
=

Notes

Currently in pre-first-draft state...
Todo:
bathtub pool(bkyrd/olympic) atmosphere tot-humans drop
blimp  ship displacement

log 10 is a bit weak for volume.

From [Cow 238]:
water on Earth (in 1015 m3):
 oceans 1350, ice 29, groundwater 8.3, freshwater lakes 0.125
 saline lakes and inland seas 0.104, soil water 0.067,
 atmosphere 0.013, in living biomass 0.003, ave in streams 0.001
From [Cow 236]:
 oceans 1.35 × 1018
 mixed ocean layer 2.7 × 1016 (what is...?)

Earth V: (6.36 × 106)3 × 4pi/3 = 1.08 × 1021 m3
Sun V: (6.96 × 108)3 × 4pi/3 = 1.41 × 1027

gallons: US lq/dry 3.785/4.405 Can/UK 4.546
~4: +6%/-9% -12%.  Blech.
Only US still using extensively, and lq more common than dry, so 3.785.

A bath takes approximately 15 to 25 gallons
dishwashers Conventional 10 to 16 gallons of water per load, 
 newer, energy-efficient dishwashers use as little as 5 gallons per load.
clothes washer standard size 25 gallons large capacity as much as 40 gal
10 minute shower 20-50 gal

tank cars[link broken] ~20-30 kgal (~75-110 m^3)

Great Lakes are about 1000 mi^3 each [src][link broken]
  Superior 2,900; Michigan 1,180; Huron 850; Erie 116; Ontario 393

eyedropper drops ~10-20 drops/mL  ~1mL capacity
the film of tears covering the eyeball is 7 to 10 microliters

A View from the Back of the Envelope
Comments encouraged. - Mitchell N Charity <mcharity@lcs.mit.edu> 

Doables:
  visualizing volume as mumble-"liter" stacks at various scales.

History:
  2003-Feb-04  Flagged 2 broken links.
  1998.Jul.31  Added tank car, History and Doables sections.
  1997.summer  Begun.