Name: Just how small is an atom?
Uploaded: 2012-04-25T15:24:02Z
Duration: 5 min 27 s
Description: Just how small are atoms? Really, really, really small. This fast-paced animation from TED-Ed uses metaphors (imagine a blueberry the size of a football stadium!) to give a visceral sense of just how small atoms are. Lesson by Jon Bergmann, animation by Cognitive Media.

Just how small are atoms? Really, really, really small. This fast-paced animation from TED-Ed uses metaphors (imagine a blueberry the size of a football stadium!) to give a visceral sense of just how small atoms are. Lesson by Jon Bergmann, animation by Cognitive Media.

Jon Bergmann: Just how small is an atom?

Just how small is an atom?

The staggering density of an atomic nucleus revealed: compressing every car's nucleus into a 1-foot cube equals the density of one nucleus.

Atoms, like marbles in a stadium-sized blueberry, reveal vast empty spaces, challenging our perception of matter's solidity.

A nucleus's density is staggering: imagine compressing 6.2 billion cars into a cubic foot, unveiling the extreme compactness of matter.