Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Can We See The Atom

    Uploaded by

    LTDINESHAP
    3 views1 page
    Atoms are too small to see with visible light because light has wavelengths around 500 nanometers while atoms are around 0.1 nanometers. Electron microscopes use electrons, which have smaller wavelengths than visible light when moving at high speeds, allowing the imaging of very small objects like atoms. Isotopes can also be distinguished by the types of radiation they emit when decaying, such as electrons or alpha particles, which can be observed to identify different isotopes.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    CAN WE SEE THE ATOM

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    Atoms are too small to see with visible light because light has wavelengths around 500 nanometers while atoms are around 0.1 nanometers. Electron microscopes use electrons, which have smaller wavelengths than visible light when moving at high speeds, allowing the imaging of very small objects like atoms. Isotopes can also be distinguished by the types of radiation they emit when decaying, such as electrons or alpha particles, which can be observed to identify different isotopes.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    3 views1 page

    Can We See The Atom

    Uploaded by

    LTDINESHAP
    Atoms are too small to see with visible light because light has wavelengths around 500 nanometers while atoms are around 0.1 nanometers. Electron microscopes use electrons, which have smaller wavelengths than visible light when moving at high speeds, allowing the imaging of very small objects like atoms. Isotopes can also be distinguished by the types of radiation they emit when decaying, such as electrons or alpha particles, which can be observed to identify different isotopes.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 1

    CAN WE SEE THE ATOM?

    The wavelength has to be of the same order or smaller than the objects you are trying to see, so light will definitely not do the job when you want to see atoms, because visible light has wavelengths of the order 500 nanometre, while atoms have sizes of the order 0.1 nanometre. That's why you cannot see atoms using a light microscope. Without getting too technical, modern physics discovered that particles can behave like waves and vice versa. With each particle (at a certain speed) a wavelength can be associated. The higher speed, the smaller its associated wavelength. (This wavelength is called de Broglie wavelength in quantum mechanics). That's why, using high velocity electrons, we can make images of very very small objects. The machine is called an electron microscope. You can " see" different isotopes because at most one of them is table, the other isotopes decay through emission of radiation, so looking at the radiation (electrons, alpha particles etc) you can identify isotopes.

    You might also like