Return to Scale View
About News Create With Us
Return to Scale View

How big is a Hydrogen Atom?

A Hydrogen Atom is 110 picometres

The Amazing World of the Hydrogen Atom

Imagine something so tiny, you would need a super powerful microscope just to see it. That’s how small a hydrogen atom is. It’s one of the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, and yet it’s so small, we can’t see it with our naked eyes. In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at the hydrogen atom, especially its size, and put it into perspective by comparing it to other things.

The Size of a Hydrogen Atom

A hydrogen atom is very, very small. To give you an idea of just how small it is, imagine this: if an atom was the size of a stadium, a hydrogen atom would be about as big as a pea sitting in the middle of that stadium. That’s tiny! On average, a hydrogen atom measures about 0.00000000005 millimeters. That’s a lot of zeroes! To put it into perspective, if you lined up hydrogen atoms side by side, it would take about 20 million of them to measure a single millimeter.

Size Comparison

To better understand the size of a hydrogen atom, let’s compare it to some other things:

  • A human hair: A single strand of human hair is about 80,000 times wider than a hydrogen atom. That’s like comparing the size of a single ant to the height of the Empire State Building!
  • A grain of sand: A tiny grain of sand is about 200,000 times bigger than a hydrogen atom. It’s like comparing the size of a single sprinkle on a cupcake to the cupcake itself.
  • A water molecule: A water molecule, which contains two hydrogen atoms, is still about 10 times bigger than a single hydrogen atom.

The Importance of Hydrogen Atoms

Despite their tiny size, hydrogen atoms have a massive impact on the universe. They make up about 75% of all the mass in the universe. That’s a lot of hydrogen atoms! Hydrogen atoms are also extremely important for life as we know it. They combine with other atoms to form water, which is essential for all known forms of life. They also combine with carbon to form a variety of different organic compounds that make up the building blocks of life.

Conclusion

Even though they’re too small to see, hydrogen atoms are everywhere. They’re in the water we drink, the air we breathe, and in the stars in the night sky. So, the next time you take a sip of water or look up at the stars, think about the tiny hydrogen atoms and their big role in the universe.

  • Hydrogen atoms are incredibly small, measuring about 0.00000000005 millimeters.
  • They are much smaller than a human hair, a grain of sand, or a water molecule.
  • Despite their size, hydrogen atoms make up about 75% of all the mass in the universe.
  • They play an essential role in life as we know it, helping to form water and organic compounds.
  • Hydrogen atoms are too small to see, but they are everywhere around us.
Smaller By Category
Angstrom
An angstrom, which is named after Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström, is one tenth of a nanometer. The symbol for an angstrom is Å. The angstrom is used to express the size of atoms or transistors.
Smallest Thing Visible to an Electron Microscope
Electron microscopes allow us to see very small things (like atoms) that would otherwise be invisible because they are smaller than the wavelength of visible light.
Helium Atom
Hydrogen atoms are larger than helium atoms because more protons in an atom's nucleus pull the electrons in closer. However, additional shells increase the size of the atoms the most. Cesium, the largest atom, has the most shells with the fewest electrons. (Francium has not been measured.)
Larger By Category
Carbon Atom
Carbon is the basis of all life on Earth. This is because carbon atoms can create four covalent bonds, which means it can bond in thousands of ways with oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, and other elements.
Water Molecule
I like to think that whenever I drink water, I drink Mickey Mouse heads. Do you, too? Oh, you don't? Well, you should.
X-Ray Wavelength
Although X-rays do not have the highest frequency, it's still a bad idea to bask in them. Don't do it! Usually, you should have a lead shield. The thicker the lead is, the more protection. However, a few X-rays will always get through. Thicker lead just lowers this chance.