VFX Artist Reveals the True Scale of Atoms

Corridor Crew
19 Dec 201908:38
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video script explores the microscopic world of atoms, showcasing their minuscule size and vast implications when scaled up. It delves into the invisible realm of atoms, their structure, and the complexity of molecules like DNA. The script also humorously compares everyday objects like pennies and red blood cells to their atomic scale counterparts, highlighting the immense scale differences and the fascinating universe within the Planck length.

Takeaways
  • 🌌 In 2013, IBM created the smallest movie ever, using individual atoms controlled through stop-motion techniques.
  • 🔬 Atoms are so small that they cannot be seen with a regular microscope and require a Scanning Tunneling Microscope to visualize their electrical charges.
  • 🤔 The concept of an atom's appearance is abstract; if scaled up, an atom would appear mostly empty, with the electron existing in a probabilistic field rather than a fixed orbit.
  • 📏 Atoms are mostly empty space; a hydrogen atom, for instance, would be the size of downtown Los Angeles if scaled up to the size of a tennis ball.
  • 🧬 DNA, the 'source code of life,' is incredibly small, with a single strand stretching thousands of kilometers if scaled up to a visible size.
  • 🌐 Molecules like adenine are simple on their own but form complex structures like DNA when combined.
  • 🩸 Red blood cells, one of the smallest in the human body, would appear enormous when scaled up, like alien dropships in the sky.
  • 🧂 Table salt is a simple compound of sodium and chlorine, forming cubic crystals that would be massive if scaled up.
  • 🪙 A penny, when scaled up to the size of a proton, would be larger than the Earth, emphasizing the minuscule scale of atoms.
  • 🌌 The Planck length represents the smallest possible length before the laws of physics break down, making even a penny seem astronomically large on this scale.
  • 🎮 The script ends with a humorous audiobook advertisement for 'Top 10 Games You Can Play In Your Head, by Yourself,' highlighting the power of imagination and memory.
Q & A

  • What makes the stop-motion short film released by IBM in 2013 special?

    -The film is special because it was created by controlling the placement of individual atoms to tell a story, which is an advanced technique beyond the capabilities of regular microscopes.

  • Why can't regular microscopes be used to observe atoms?

    -Regular microscopes can't be used to observe atoms because atoms are too small to interact with light, making them effectively invisible to such devices.

  • What is a Scanning Tunneling Microscope and how does it help in observing atoms?

    -A Scanning Tunneling Microscope is a special machine that maps the electrical charges of atoms to create a model representation, allowing researchers to visualize atoms despite their small size.

  • What is the main component of a simple atom like hydrogen?

    -A simple hydrogen atom consists of an electron and a proton, with the electron's location defined by a field rather than a fixed orbit.

  • How is the size of an atom determined?

    -The size of an atom is determined by the fields that define where the electron might be found, which can change shape as more electrons are added.

  • What would happen if you scaled a proton up to the size of a tennis ball?

    -If a proton were scaled up to the size of a tennis ball, the entire atom, including the electron's field, would be 8 kilometers wide, roughly the size of downtown Los Angeles.

  • How does the script describe the scale of an atom compared to a tennis ball?

    -The script describes an atom as being one ångström wide, or a tenth of a nanometer, which when scaled up to the size of a tennis ball, results in a scale of 670 million to 1.

  • What is adenine and how does it relate to DNA?

    -Adenine is a molecule that, when joined with other molecules, forms the building blocks of DNA, the source code of all life.

  • Why does the traditional model of DNA fail to convey its true scale?

    -The traditional model of DNA, often depicted as a twisted ladder, does not convey its true scale because DNA is actually very tiny, about 20 atoms wide.

  • What is the significance of the penny in the script's discussion of scale?

    -The penny is used to illustrate the scale of atoms by comparing its size when scaled up to the size of a tennis ball, which is the same size as the Earth at the equator, highlighting the immense difference in scale.

  • What is the Planck length and how does it relate to the scale of a penny?

    -The Planck length is the smallest length mathematically possible before the laws of physics break down. If a penny were scaled to the size of a Planck length, it would be larger than the entire observable universe.

Outlines
00:00
🌌 The Incredible Scale of Atoms and the Universe

This paragraph delves into the minuscule world of atoms, highlighting IBM's 2013 achievement of creating the smallest movie by manipulating individual atoms. It explains the necessity of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope to visualize atoms due to their size being too small to interact with light. The script uses the analogy of scaling an atom to the size of a tennis ball to illustrate the vast emptiness within an atom, with the electron's location being probabilistic rather than fixed. It further explores the concept of molecules, DNA, and the scale of biological entities like red blood cells, emphasizing the immense difference in size between atomic and cellular levels. The paragraph concludes with a surprising comparison between the scaled size of a penny and the Earth's diameter, showcasing the extraordinary scale differences in the universe.

05:00
🚀 Scaling the Subatomic: From Quarks to the Observable Universe

The second paragraph takes the concept of scale to new heights, starting with the comparison of a penny's size to Jupiter's orbit when a proton is scaled to the size of a tennis ball. It then discusses the subatomic particles like quarks, which are believed to be point-like and without physical size, but potentially 2000 times smaller than a proton. The script introduces the Planck length, the smallest measurable length before the laws of physics break down, and demonstrates the incomprehensible scale of the universe by comparing it to a penny scaled to the size of a tennis ball, which would be larger than the observable universe itself. The paragraph concludes with a philosophical reflection on the fractal nature of the universe, its boundless scale in both large and small dimensions, and a humorous audiobook plug set at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Scanning Tunneling Microscope
A Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) is a specialized type of microscope used to visualize surfaces at the atomic level. It operates by mapping the electrical charges of atoms to create a model representation. In the video, STM is crucial for the creation of the smallest movie ever made by IBM, where individual atoms are controlled to tell a story, showcasing the extreme level of detail and precision required to work at the atomic scale.
💡Atom
An atom is the basic unit of matter and the defining structure of elements. It consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The video emphasizes the minuscule size of atoms, highlighting that they are mostly empty space with electrons existing in fields around the nucleus rather than fixed orbits. The concept of scaling atoms up to the size of a tennis ball illustrates the vast emptiness within them, a key point in understanding the scale of the universe.
💡Electron
Electrons are subatomic particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom. They are fundamental to the structure of atoms and play a critical role in chemical bonding. The video uses the electron's probabilistic location within an atom's field to emphasize the emptiness within atoms and the challenge of visualizing such small entities.
💡Molecule
A molecule is a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction. The script mentions adenine as an example of a simple molecule that, when combined with others, forms DNA, the 'source code of all life.' This illustrates the progression from simple atomic structures to complex molecules that are essential to life.
💡DNA
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known living organisms. The video script explains that DNA's actual size is much smaller than traditional models suggest, emphasizing the minuscule scale of biological molecules.
💡Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acid residues and play a crucial role in the structure, function, and regulation of the body's cells, tissues, and organs. The script describes proteins as part of the increasing complexity of molecules, leading to the formation of 'molecule economies' within cells.
💡Cell
A cell is the smallest unit of life, often referred to as the 'building blocks of life.' Cells are complex structures that contain many molecules and organelles, each with specific functions. The video uses the example of a red blood cell to illustrate the scale of biological entities, comparing their size when scaled up to everyday objects.
💡Red Blood Cell
Red blood cells, or erythrocytes, are the most common type of blood cell and are essential for transporting oxygen throughout the body. The video script uses red blood cells to demonstrate the vast number of cells in the human body and their scaled size relative to everyday objects, like a penny.
💡Salt
Table salt is a chemical compound consisting of sodium and chlorine, known for its cubic crystal structure. The script uses salt to illustrate the concept of scaling up atomic structures, showing that even something as small as a salt crystal can become incredibly large when scaled up according to the atomic scale.
💡Planck Length
The Planck length is a unit of length that represents the scale at which the effects of quantum gravity become significant, and it is considered the smallest measurable length. The video uses the Planck length to convey the concept of an unimaginably small scale, contrasting it with the vastness of the observable universe.
💡Fractal
A fractal is a concept that represents a never-ending pattern that repeats itself at different scales. The video script uses the term 'fractal' to describe the universe's infinite nature, suggesting that it can be infinitely large and small, limited only by our ability to observe.
Highlights

IBM released the smallest movie ever made in 2013, controlled by the placement of individual atoms.

Atoms are too small to interact with light, making them invisible under a regular microscope.

A Scanning Tunneling Microscope is used to map the electrical charges of atoms to create a model representation.

Atoms are mostly empty space, contrary to the common misconception of their appearance.

If scaled up, a hydrogen atom would be the size of downtown Los Angeles.

Finding an electron in an atom is likened to finding a needle in a haystack, emphasizing its difficulty.

A simple atom model is assumed to be one ångström wide for the purpose of the video.

Adenine, a simple molecule, is part of the DNA's 'source code of all life'.

DNA is much smaller than typically depicted, being only 20 atoms wide.

Molecules like proteins and organelles become complex, forming 'molecule economies' known as cells.

A red blood cell, one of the smallest in the human body, is used to illustrate scale.

A single drop of blood contains 5 million red blood cells, produced at a rate of 2 million per second.

Table salt's cubic crystals are a result of how sodium and chlorine atoms are packed together.

A penny, when scaled up to the size of a proton, would be the size of Jupiter's orbit.

The Planck length is the smallest measurable length before the laws of physics break down.

The entire observable universe could fit into a single pixel on a 4K TV screen when scaled to the Planck length.

The universe is both inconceivably large and small, limited only by our observational capabilities.

Transcripts

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Atom ScaleMolecular ScienceQuantum PhysicsScanning TunnelingDNA StructureSubatomic ParticlesCosmic ScaleMolecular BiologyScale ComparisonEducational Script