Subatomic particles: Comparative sizes

[rrw4rusty]

Hi,

 

Now that my science fiction book is finished, I’ve been toying with an idea for an animation I’m thinking of doing. One of the things I want to show is the real comparative sizes of subatomic particles (including strings) and how much empty space there is at the atomic and subatomic levels. People don’t have a good understanding of this – in fact, most representations have given people the wrong idea. I do not want numbers. Numbers are great but they do not give a layperson any kind of feel for size especially with atoms wrongly being represented as compact objects in textbooks and elsewhere. So, I’ve been researching this angle and what I’ve come up with so far is:

 

• If an atom were the size of our solar system, a string would be the size of a tree (perhaps this depends on which theory? If so I want the smallest and the average).

• If an atom were a mile in diameter it’s nucleus would be the size of a marble. Actually, I found several comparisons that all seem a little different. Like…

• Imagine the atom as the size of a professional baseball stadium (in 3D). The size of the nucleus would be about the size of a baseball in proportion. Ants would be far too big to represent as the electrons.

• That an atom is 99.9999% empty space.

 

I’d like any consensus on the above that I can get.

 

What I don’t yet have is how the size of a quark fits into all this. I understand that this one is not so easy but I need something. Anyone?

 

I assume that in most string theories (if not all) that ALL particles are based on strings and that a string's vibration determines what type of quark or Leptons or other particle (gluons) you get (is this correct?). So it sounds like one string per quark or Lepton, therefore 3 strings per hadron. Correct?

 

As always, any help is greatly appreciated!

Rusty

[emoallen3433]

You are correct. An atom is about 99% empty space, and i think the baseball stadium sized model is more accurate. Also, one string per particle. Hadrons are a broad category of quark composed particles. They contain Baryons (three quarks or four quarks and an anti-quark) and mesons(a quark and an anti-quark). So this means 3 or 5 strings per Baryon, and 2 per Meson.

[Enthalpy]

Whether mw4rusty was still awaiting an answer...?

 

The size of an electron has no fixe answer because, as far as we know, it's an elementary particle. You can observe it with a particle of any energy accessible to us, hence in a volume as small as possible to us, and it still behaves like one single particle.

 

So depending on what interaction is considered, different sizes can be defined, which are all arbitrary.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Enthalpy

[Theoretical]

Nice idea. The atomic world is a beautiful world of light circulating dancing around each other in a beautiful tune in warped space fields.