Could an atom be a small universe?

Question

...we know what makes up an atom(electrons,nuetrons and protons) but what makes those up,could there actually be something smaller than them???is the earth an atom for example, if it was it would be made up of many hundreds of things..an atom...the smallest or biggest thing yet...?

Answer 1

There was a wonderful story about this very thing in the 1950's EC comic Weird Science #12. It was called "Lost In The Microcosm". The guy got sprayed with this chemical that made him shrink. He kept shrinking and disappeared in his lab mates palm. He saw white blood cells try to attack him but he kept shrinking. He began to see atoms that looked like he was floating in space. As he continued to shrink, the gravitational force of a "particle" attracted him. He continued to shrink and found he was a giant on a strange planet. He was still shrinking and the whole process would repeat itself. The story ended with him shrinking into a chair. He was trying to explain his bad situation, hoping he'd find a world that could help him stop shrinking. That last one was Earth.

I read a reprint of it when I was about 12, it really freaked me out.

Answer 2

Well, the fundamental particles with which we are familiar are:

Leptons (fermions that don't experience the strong force - electron, tau, muon and their neutrinos)

Vector/gauge bosons (virtual particles that mediate the four fundamental forces)

Quarks (one third of a nucleon) or Preon (still in doubt)

As for whether our universe can represent an atom, consider these obstacles:

- Our entire universe is mediated almost entirely by one single force (gravitation) on the large scale and its interactions between dark energy and regular matter. This is opposed to a single atom, which is mediated by the three other forces (weak, strong, electromagnetic).

- There is a LOT of evidence now for the hot big bang theory, suggesting that the universe has a "birth." Although this roughly resembles the synthesis of quarks (matter) from energy due to quantum fluctuations, the universe's scope in that it encompasses all TIME and SPACE at every point does not match that of an atom.

- Building on the previous point, the fabric of "spacetime" as theorized by General Relativity cannot allow for anything "outside" the universe in either time or space.

However, all these problems with the "multiple" universes idea can be solved with a single sort of metaphysical statement: the "greater" universe doesn't follow the same physics as our universe. This is the same idea as the conflict between Newtonian physics and Quantum physics. The question you ask is an extremely philosophical and almost religious question, but the tentative conclusion that we can reach with what we know today is:

If our universe is really a small part of something great, then the something great CANNOT follow the laws of physics as we understand them now.

We have an obligation to remain open-minded about the prospect; however, the fact is that a "greater" universe (should it exist) has not noticeably affected us yet (arguably), so we should stop trying to worry about it and figure out a way to ensure sustainability of the human race and of Earth.

Answer 3

Great question and I'm afraid I've no idea. But it seems very likely that there is something smaller. I think someone has written a story about this idea (sci-fi I expect) - discovering that our planet is actually just a speck of dust in a larger cosmos. And why not?

The Dalai Lama has also written a book called The Universe in an Atom - about the link between science and spirituality. I find that questions about the nature of the universe often lead to questions about God. Not a lot of answers of course, but then maybe that's the way it's supposed to be.

I hope you get some good answers to this one.

Answer 4

In the world of quantum mechanics, nobody can say for sure the speed and position of the electron. The more you know the speed, the less you know the position and vice versa.

The alternative explanation is that the electron cannot be said to exist until an experiment is done to make it there. It is created during the experiment.

This means that reality as a whole cannot be said to be here until we do experiments to create it.

Having said all these, I would say that no real mini universe exists. However, it will exists if the researcher believes it is there and do experiments to show it is there.

Answer 5

an atom is the smallest & the most important thing, in the inside it looks alot like the universe
proton & nuetrons is like the sun, electrons is like the planets.
electrons revolve around the p&n, planets revolve around the sun.
but this if u look in general but in deepth no it doesnt, electrons revolve in energy levels K,L,M,N.....
K carry 2 electrons, M CARRY 8 &so on
each energy level is also divide. universe does not have all of this divisions

Answer 6

The idea is pretty old now.
Imagine the solar system with the atom(sun) in the center and electrons gravitating around like planets. Also remember the fractal patterns. Which were discovered not so much time ago.

Answer 7

There could well be. One of these days they might be able to measure it. The interesting thing (I find) about atoms is all the wasted space. They're mostly nothing, with a few doo-dads spinning around inside. If in doubt, get yourself a cubic modulator. It allows one to assume a diminished form, whilst maintaining one's molecular integrity. But you'll need a time machine in order to get one. I hope this helps.

Answer 8

I am from Modena, Italy.
The Universe even it has no explanation.
The atom exists to understand the universe.

Answer 9

For all we know, we could all be sub-atomic particles of a human being billions of times larger than ourselves who is, at this moment, sitting on his toilet waiting to set us all free!

Answer 10

because size is of no importance, it may be possible to have a universe as small as an atom.

but then that universe will not be here because we have our own universe.