Has anyone in the world ever actually seen an atom or is it a theory? Direct me to evidence either way please.

Question

A nuclear scientist aquaintance told me that, contrary to popular belief, 'THE ATOM' is a myth, theory, idea etc. which, though accepted by millions as the best explanation of matter so far and even accepted as a hard fact of life by equally as many, is nevertheless unproven. Could someone enlighten me and/or point to authoritative information/websites that will give me a clear and honest and up-to-date answer on this question. Many thanks

Answer 1

I think you'll have a problem here.

Objects can be too small to interact with LIGHT.
Or better said, too small to interact with PHOTONS to produce an image the way we usually get from large objects.

This means that we will NEVER be able to SEE these objects.

What we do however, is see how photons (or electrons) are affected by the object (atom).

The angle of deflection and other properties an photon or electron has before and after interacting with an atom will enable us to use calculations to recreate an image of the object.

So, no, we do not have a clear cut image of how an atom looks like.
But science only need to know how it behaves.

Still, we get pretty close with Scanning Tunneling Microscope technology.

Provided is an image:

Answer 2

This raises some philosophical questions about what science is.

I'm not sure that anything except mathematical theorems can be absolutely "proven." In that sense, nobody has yet "proven" that the earth is round, or that it goes around the sun, or that the universe existed before last Thursday, etc.

However, the existence of the atom is about as well "proven" as anything can ever be in science. In science, "proof" is a matter of gradually reaching a point of universal acceptance after many, many observations that seem to defy any alternative explanation.

Whether or not you should label that as "proof," is a matter of philosophy. The fact is, most of the things that we informally think we've "proven" in our everyday lives (like, "I can prove that you drove my car last night"), are not nearly as rigorously tested as "THE ATOM". So if you feel comfortable applying the word "proven" to those informal situations, you should feel ten times as comfortable applying it to the question of the existence of the atom. I do not feel that the additional experience of "actually seeing" an atom would add one ounce of confidence to the theory. (After all, if you doubted the existence of atoms, why would believe in the photons of light that carried the image to your eyes?)

Still, a better way to describe the atom might be to call it a "model." That sort of sidesteps the fundamental issue of "what it is," or even whether it "exists." By calling it a "model," you're treating it as a mental picture which serves as a useful tool for making predictions. In this case, the mental picture is SO useful, and SO successful in its predictions, that we feel perfectly confident in trusting our very lives to it (as we do every day when we make use of the medicines, airplanes, computers, etc. whose existence and operation depend on our assumptions about atoms).

Answer 3

Atomic theory is a theory - not a myth.
No. No one has every directly observed an individual atom. Although x-ray diffraction patterns of atomic arrangements have been made and measured for many different substances - where you can see the positions of different atoms.
The prevailing theory about the structure and behavior of atoms makes many predictions about the structure of behavior of the molecules that are made up of atoms. And all of our observations and tests agree with and support what atomic theory predicts. So, without directly seeing atoms, we infer their existence by observing their effects - effects that could not be explained by any other (better or more likely) theory.

Answer 4

The idea of "atoms" is indeed a Theory, the "Atomic Theory". It cannot be proven because we cannot directly observe atoms. But the Theory is sound enough that it predicted exactly what woiuld happen at Nagasaki & Hiroshima.

The picture in your head of an atom with stuff in the middle and more stuff whizzing round the outside is a "model" that works almost perfectly to explain the nature of matter. But the "reality" beneath it is ultimately unknowable.

Answer 5

Nobody has seen the atom with his eyes, and and i am not sure it is direktly seen in microscopes.
But they have a weight, mooving energy etc. May be the biggest of them are "seen". But the problem is that the massive core is about 0.0000001 of the volume. May be less.
The electron that surronds the core are mush smaller and the give the outer border of the atom may be like cloudy particles speeding around.
I think Niels Boors atom model is a model. Our mind can not exactly imagine it.

Answer 6

It's not possible to see an atom directly. It is a theory, but theory has a very different meaning to a scientist than in every day conversation.

To a scientist, the word theory means something that is very well established and explains a broad range of phenomena. Before a scientist will call something a theory, it has to pass a large number of tests.

Answer 7

The nuclear scientist is wrong.
Scientists use an 'Electron Microscope' nowadays and can view an atom.

Answer 8

dont let these guys brainwash you like the secret societies that govern all major scientific so called "facts". Atoms are a myth just like gravity....make sure you dont take your silver foil hat off your head while your're on here or they will read your thoughts like they have mine! whats that ringing?

Answer 9

The atom cannot be visibly seen ,therefore its existance could be characterised as theory.
However,quantum mechanics mathematically prove beyond doubt their existance.

Answer 10

Atoms can be observed directly using scanning tunneling microscopy.