How big is an Atom?
Physicists have developed powerful
Scanning Tunneling Microscopes that can now photograph individual
atoms. From the accompanying photograph, students will measure the size of
a typical atom. This photograph was made by Peter Zeppenfeld and Donal Eigler
at IBM and is called "Molecule Man" because it was constructed by moving 28
individual molecules of carbon monoxide on a platinum surface. Molecule man
stands 50 Angstroms tall, and 25 Angstroms wide!
Purpose:
De-mystify atoms and make students 'see' them as real objects in the world
that can be studied and measured.
Procedure:
- With a millimeter ruler, measure the size of the vertical edge of the
accompanying 'scanning tunneling microscope' image.
- Divide the number of millimeters you measured by the actual size of the
field of the microscope based on the dimensions of the Molecule Man
given in the text above in Angstroms.
- Measure 5 or 10 of the round molecule images at a point just where they begin
to blend together, but measure them the same way each time.
- Average the 5 - 10 measurements together to get the average diameter of
the carbon monoxide molecule image in the photograph.
- Multiply the molecular diameters in millimeters by the scale factor you
computed in Step 1. The answer will be the average diameter of the molecule in
Angstrom units. In actuality, the carbon and oxygen atoms are actually
stacked up vertically in the photograph so the diameters you have measured
are pretty close to the diameter of an individual carbon or oxygen atom!
Assessment:
Students will see that atoms can be measured in a very simple way. Students
individual answers may vary, so you might plot the student's answers on a
graph with 'Number of Estimates' on the vertical axis, and 'Estimated Size'
on the horizontal axis. Discuss the possible reasons for the differences in
the answers in terms of how a student decided where the edge of an atom
'ended' in the photograph.
Return to:
Activity Topic Matrix
POETRY Home Page