The number of possible ordered triples would then be 40,000 times 40,000 times 40,000, which is 64 trillion. If you allow repeats, as what3words does, there would be 40,000 possibilities for the first word, 40,000 possibilities for the second word, and 40,000 possibilities for the third word. (The what3words system works in 50 different languages with independently assigned words.) The next question is determining how many ordered triples of three random words can be made from a list of 40,000 words. The developers at what3words came up with a list of 40,000 English words. But even using only common English words, there are still plenty to go around. Some scholars estimate there are more a million English words however, many of them are very uncommon. The next step is figuring out how many words there are in a language, and whether there are enough ordered triples to map the globe. Is on a mountain in Alaska, not in the middle of the RIT Tigers Turf Field, like. So “” would be considered a different ordered triple than “”. Dividing 9 into 510 trillion reveals that uniquely identifying each square requires around 57 trillion ordered triples of three random words.Īn ordered triple is just a list of three things in which the order matters. So, working in the metric system, Earth’s surface area is equivalent to 510 trillion square meters. Remember: What3words is using 3-meter-by-3-meter squares, each of which contains 9 square meters of surface area. With r = 3,959 (6,371), this works out to approximately 197 million square miles (510 million square kilometers). To compute the surface area of the Earth, use the formula 4πr 2. Start with the basic assumption that the Earth is a sphere, recognizing that this is an approximate truth, and that its radius is approximately 3,959 miles (6,371 kilometers). Here’s how three random words in English or any other language can identify such precise locations across the whole planet. Seeing these advantages, some car manufacturers are starting to integrate what3words into their navigation systems.Įvery 10-foot-by-10-foot square on the planet can be labeled with its own unique three-word label. This makes the system well suited for emergency services. ![]() Also, three words are easier for humans to remember and communicate to one another than, say, detailed latitude and longitude measurements. First, it’s more precise than regular street addresses. This new approach to geocoding is useful for several reasons. For example, there’s a square in the middle of the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers Turf Field coded to. So, you could think of them as roughly 10-foot-by-10-foot squares, which is about the size of a small home office or bedroom. If your brain operates more naturally in the English measurement system, 3 meters is about 9.8 feet. What3words is an app and web-based service that provides a geographic reference for every 3-meter-by-3-meter square on Earth using three random words. The secret behind this power is just a little bit of math. ![]() It’s hard to imagine that three random words have the power to both map the globe and keep your private data secure.
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