TEXT CLARIFICATION - Orders of Magnitude
Individual quantities, with ratios of less than ten, are within the
same order of magnitude. An order of magnitude larger means 10 times
larger, two orders of magnitude larger means 100 times larger, i.e.,
10x10 not just 20 times larger. Three orders of magnitude means 1000
times as large (10x10x10), and so on.
If you are quoting "orders of magnitude", make sure you also
incorporate the original quantity in the final 'estimates'. For example,
if you state that something is three orders of magnitude greater than
a value of 18 (i.e., 18 multiplied by 10x10x10) you are then
talking about 18 000, not just 1000, which is a significant difference
in quantity!
Unless you are sure your readers are familiar with the application
of this convention, it is better to indicate the approximate amount
by which one quantity exceeds, or is less than, another, rather than
say it is one or two orders of magnitude different.
