To understand the scale of an atomic nucleus compared to its electrons, we can use a rough analogy. The nucleus of an atom is extremely small, about \(10^{-15}\) meters (1 femtometer), while the electron cloud occupies a much larger region, typically on the order of angstroms (\(10^{-10}\) meters) or nanometers (\(10^{-9}\) meters) in size.
If we scale an atomic nucleus to the size of a dime, which has a diameter of approximately 1.8 centimeters (or about 0.018 meters), we can estimate the distance to the electron. In a typical atom, the electron is about 100,000 times farther away from the nucleus than the nucleus itself is across—this means that if the nucleus were the size of a dime, the electron could be roughly 100,000 dimes away.
Calculating that distance:
1.8 centimeters (diameter of a dime) * 100,000 = 180,000 centimeters, or 1,800 meters, which is roughly 1.1 miles.
Considering the options given (1 mile, 1 yard, 1 inch, 1 foot), the closest choice to our estimation is 1 mile.
2 answers