2007-01-09 06:23:05 · 9 answers · asked by aos474 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
It depends on what element the atom is, because each element has its own atomic radius. I'll take carbon as an example of a common element. It has an atomic radius of 70 pm. That's 70 x 10^-12 m. 1 mm is 0.001 m. 0.001 m / 70 x 10^-12 m = 1.43 x 10^7, or about 14 million atoms. Pencils are made of graphite, which is a form of carbon, so this really is how many atoms might be found in a 1 mm line if you had a pencil with an infinitely sharp point. Hydrogen is a much smaller atom, with a radius of only 25 pm, so it would take .001 m / 25 x 10^-12 m = 40 million atoms. Mercury is a larger atom, with a radius of 150 pm, so it would take .001 m / 150 x 10^-12 m = 6.7 million atoms. It all depends on what atom you're talking about.
2007-01-09 06:31:30 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Technically, it can take as few as 1 atom to make a "line" 1mm long. If you excite the electron of a hydrogen atom to a high enough energy level, it can become visible. Atoms in such an excited state are called rydberg atoms.
2007-01-09 17:47:44 · answer #2 · answered by Patrick M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They measure atoms in angstroms, which is 1x10^(-10) meters. There are 10 angstroms in a nanometer, 10,000 in a micrometer, and 10,000,000 angstroms in a millimeter.
It all depends on what type of atom you're talking about. It could be a hydrocarbon chain, or atoms in a crystal lattice.
If I were to guess, I'd say a few million, depending on the atom.
Try http://www.webelements.com
2007-01-09 14:35:29 · answer #3 · answered by vrrJT3 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assume an atom is about 0.2 nm in size (for hydrogen, the Bohr radius is about 0.05 nm).
Hence, the number of atoms needed would be
1 mm x 10^6 nm/mm / 0.2 nm = 5 x 10^6 = 5 million
2007-01-09 14:31:53 · answer #4 · answered by bozo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
of what chemical? Example: more than a million atoms make up the with of your hair so probably a 100 million
2007-01-09 14:29:11 · answer #5 · answered by sammalmsteen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some of these answers are stupid. Just one dot on a page contains more atoms than people on earth.
2007-01-10 11:30:05 · answer #6 · answered by manc1999 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For the most atoms, it would be Simple Hydrogen. Find out the Bohr radius, double this, and divide 0.001 by the double Bohr radius and you have your answer.
2007-01-09 15:02:27 · answer #7 · answered by 007 Sentinel 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2000000-10000000
2007-01-09 14:37:33 · answer #8 · answered by Lydia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1135.5 approx
2007-01-09 14:29:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anna 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋