What Is The Size Of One Atom?

Whatever we know about atoms may not hold good tomorrow. Scientists are constantly exploring and learning new things about the atom. We have the atom-smashing machines too. The word atom has Greek origin, meaning “indivisible.” Then it was considered the smallest particle of any substance.

Now we know more than 20 different particles in the core of the atom. Scientists tell us that an atom is made of electrons, protons, neutrons, positrons and neutrinos, hyperons, and mesons. Electrons are particles that carry a tiny negative charge of electricity. The protons are 1836 times heavier than the electrons and carry a positive charge. The neutrons do not carry any charge of electricity. The positrons are of the size of electrons and carry a positive charge. The neutrino is in size of about one two-thousandth of an electron and carries no charge. Mesons may be either positively or negatively charged. The hyperons are larger than protons.

How all these particles or charges are held in an atom is not known. These atoms make up the elements. They differ from each other and in weight and are classified according to atomic weights. The atomic weight of hydrogen is “1” and that of iron is “55”, thus an atom of iron is 55 times heavier than that of hydrogen.

These weights are very small. A single atom of hydrogen weighs about one million-million-million-millionth of a gram, or alternative4T in a gram there would be about 6 x 1023 atoms of hydrogen, or counting one atom in a second would take ten thousand million years in respect of all atoms in one gram of hydrogen.