r/theydidthemath 2d ago

[Request] Is this vaguely true?

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u/HAL9001-96 2d ago

not quite

now they do probably mean logarithmically speaking

and specks of dust come in very differnet sizes

and hte size of an atom is ab it tricky to define

but we're talking something like 10^-11 to 10^-9 meters and about 10^7m so the middle is about 10^-2 to 10^-1 meters so about 1-10 cm

now an atoms core would only be abut 10^-15 to 10^-14 meters putting the middle to about 10^-4m or 0.1mm which is a relatively large dust particle but in the right range

but while that depiction of an atom is a bit of an inaccurate simplification anyways it clearly shows a whole atom, not a nucleus

also, of course, linearly rather htan logairthmically speaking the middle between an atom and hte earth in diameter would be a planet half hte size of the earth so roughly mars

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u/Futuressobright 2d ago

So would it be right to say if an atom were the size of a speck of dust a speck of dust would be the size of the earth?

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u/KosmosKlaus 2d ago

Or maybe a golf ball is roughly in the middle of an atom and the earth

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u/NetworkSingularity 2d ago

On a logarithmic scale, specifically. On a regular old linear scale it’s Mars, as someone else said