Comparing the Size of the Hydrogen Atom’s Nucleus to its Orbital

By

Atomnucleusorbitals This exercise will assist students in visualizing how little of the space occupied by an atom actually contains matter.  This exercise will create a scaled model of the hydrogen atom with which students can zoom from an external view of the s-orbital down to the nucleus.  It should be noted that SolidWorks does not use measurements that accommodate the dimensions of an atom.  (The s-orbital diameter of a hydrogen atom is on the order of   10-10meters and the proton which forms the nucleus has a diameter on the order of 10-15meters.)

However if assigned units are ignored, the breadth of magnitudes in measurement that SolidWorks does provide will allow a scaled model of the atom to be viewed.  Contributed by Bruce Hamren.

Lesson Plan: SizeOfAtom.DOC 

Part0icon Sample Parts: h__atom_model.SLDPRT

Marie Planchard

Marie Planchard

Senior Director, Early Engagement, 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systemes
Marie Planchard is an education and engineering advocate. As Senior Director of Education & Early Engagement, SOLIDWORKS, she is responsible for global development of content and social outreach for the 3DEXPERIENCE Works products across all levels of learning including educational institutions, Fab Labs, and entrepreneurship.
Marie Planchard

@marieplanchard1