Atomic Scale Comparison
Visualizing the vast difference between atomic and nuclear scales
Theory
This simulation demonstrates the enormous difference in scale between an atom and its nucleus, which is often difficult to comprehend due to the extremely small sizes involved.
Actual Sizes:
- Nucleus diameter: 10-15 m to 10-14 m (femtometers)
- Atom diameter: ~10-10 m (ångströms)
- Pin tip diameter: ~10-4 m (0.1 mm)
Scaling Concept:
If we scale up a nucleus (10-15 m) to the size of a pin tip (10-4 m), we're applying a scaling factor of 1011.
An atom (10-10 m) scaled by the same factor becomes:
10-10 m × 1011 = 10 m
Visualization:
In this scaled-up view:
- The nucleus is like a pin tip (about 0.1 mm across)
- The atom would be a sphere about 10 meters in diameter
- The electrons would be tiny specks orbiting about 5 meters from the nucleus
- Most of the atom is empty space between nucleus and electrons
Interactive Simulation
Actual Nucleus Size
10-15 m
Actual Atom Size
10-10 m
Scaling Factor
1011×
If a nucleus (red dot) is scaled up to the size of a pin tip...
...then the atom (blue sphere) would be about 10 meters across!
Electrons (yellow dots) would orbit about 5 meters from the nucleus.
Actual Size
Scaled Up (1011×)
