TED-Ed
Jon Bergmann: Just how small is an atom?
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Just how small are atoms? Really, really, really small. This fast-paced animation from TED-Ed uses metaphors (imagine a blueberry the size of a football stadium!) to give a visceral sense of just how small atoms are. Lesson by Jon Bergmann, animation by Cognitive Media.
Jon Bergmann - Educator
Jon Bergmann co-wrote the book on the "flipped classroom" -- using video to help students master new ideas outside the traditional class setting. Full bio
Jon Bergmann co-wrote the book on the "flipped classroom" -- using video to help students master new ideas outside the traditional class setting. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
(Música)
Probablemente ya saben que todo está hecho
00:26
You probably already know
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de unas cositas llamadas átomos.
00:28
everything is made up
of little tiny things called atoms
of little tiny things called atoms
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Quizá sepan que el átomo está formado por partículas aún más pequeñas
00:30
or even that each atom
is made up of even smaller particles
is made up of even smaller particles
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llamadas protones, neutrones y electrones.
00:33
called protons, neutrons and electrons.
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Y quizá han escuchado que los
átomos son pequeños.
átomos son pequeños.
00:35
And you've probably heard
that atoms are small.
that atoms are small.
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Pero apuesto a que no han pensado nunca cuán pequeños son realmente.
00:38
But I bet you haven't ever thought
about how small atoms really are.
about how small atoms really are.
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Bueno, la respuesta es que son muy,
muy pequeños.
muy pequeños.
00:42
Well, the answer is
that they are really, really small.
that they are really, really small.
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Entonces, ¿cuán pequeños son los átomos?
00:46
So you ask, just how small are atoms?
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Para entenderlo, hagamos esta pregunta:
00:49
To understand this,
let's ask this question:
let's ask this question:
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¿Cuántos átomos hay en un pomelo?
00:53
How many atoms are in a grapefruit?
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Bueno, supongamos que el pomelo está hecho sólo de átomos de nitrógeno,
00:55
Well, let's assume that the grapefruit
is made up of only nitrogen atoms,
is made up of only nitrogen atoms,
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cosa que no es así, pero hay átomos de
nitrógeno en el pomelo.
nitrógeno en el pomelo.
00:59
which isn't at all true, but there
are nitrogen atoms in a grapefruit.
are nitrogen atoms in a grapefruit.
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Bueno, para ayudar a visualizar esto, hagamos cada átomo
01:02
To help you visualize this,
let's blow up each of the atoms
let's blow up each of the atoms
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del tamaño de un arándano.
01:05
to the size of a blueberry.
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Entonces, ¿qué tamaño tendría el pomelo?
01:07
And then how big
would the grapefruit have to be?
would the grapefruit have to be?
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Tendría que tener el tamaño de la Tierra.
01:10
It would have to be the same size of
-- well, actually, the Earth.
-- well, actually, the Earth.
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¡Es muy loco! Entonces, ¿si llenamos la
Tierra de arándanos,
Tierra de arándanos,
01:14
That's crazy!
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01:16
You mean to say that if I filled
the Earth with blueberries,
the Earth with blueberries,
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tendría la misma cantidad de átomos de
nitrógeno que un pomelo?
nitrógeno que un pomelo?
01:18
I would have the same number
of nitrogen atoms as a grapefruit?
of nitrogen atoms as a grapefruit?
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¡Correcto! Entonces, ¿qué tamaño tiene el átomo?
01:21
That's right!
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01:23
So how big is the atom?
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Bueno, es muy, muy, muy, muy pequeño.
01:25
Well, it's really, really small!
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Y, ¿saben qué?
01:28
And you know what?
It gets even more crazy.
It gets even more crazy.
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Es mucho más loco.
01:31
Let's now look inside of each atom
-- and thus the blueberry, right? --
-- and thus the blueberry, right? --
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Ahora veamos dentro del átomo, es decir,
el arándano.
el arándano.
¿Qué ven allí?
01:34
What do you see there?
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En el centro del átomo está lo que llamamos núcleo,
01:35
In the center of the atom
is something called the nucleus,
is something called the nucleus,
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que contiene protones y neutrones,
01:38
which contains protons and neutrons,
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y por fuera vemos los electrones.
01:40
and on the outside, you'd see electrons.
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¿Qué tamaño tiene el núcleo?
01:42
So how big is the nucleus?
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Bueno, si los átomos son como arándanos en la Tierra, ¿de qué tamaño es el núcleo?
01:44
If atoms are like blueberries
in the Earth,
in the Earth,
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01:46
how big would the nucleus be?
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Quizá recuerdan las viejas imágenes del átomo de las clases de ciencias,
01:48
You might remember the old pictures
of the atom from science class,
of the atom from science class,
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con este puntito en la página y una flecha que apunta al núcleo.
01:51
where you saw this tiny dot on the page
with an arrow pointing to the nucleus.
with an arrow pointing to the nucleus.
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Bueno, esas imágenes no están dibujadas a escala;
01:55
Well, those pictures,
they're not drawn to scale,
they're not drawn to scale,
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por eso son un poco erróneas.
01:57
so they're kind of wrong.
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Entonces, ¿de qué tamaño es el núcleo?
01:59
So how big is the nucleus?
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Si abriéramos el arándano
02:01
So if you popped open the blueberry
and were searching for the nucleus ...
and were searching for the nucleus ...
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en busca del núcleo,
¿saben qué? Sería invisible.
02:06
You know what? It would be invisible.
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¡Es demasiado pequeño!
02:08
It's too small to see!
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Bien. Expandamos el átomo, el arándano,
02:10
OK. Let's blow up the atom --
the blueberry --
the blueberry --
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hasta el tamaño de una casa.
02:13
to the size of a house.
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02:15
So imagine a ball that is as tall
as a two-story house.
as a two-story house.
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Imaginemos una pelota del alto
de una casa de dos plantas.
de una casa de dos plantas.
Busquemos el núcleo en el centro del átomo.
02:18
Let's look for the nucleus
in the center of the atom.
in the center of the atom.
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Y, ¿saben qué? Apenas podremos verlo.
02:21
And do you know what?
It would just barely be visible.
It would just barely be visible.
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Para poder entender cabalmente
el tamaño del núcleo
el tamaño del núcleo
02:25
So to get our minds wrapped
around how big the nucleus is,
around how big the nucleus is,
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tenemos que expandir el arándano hasta el
tamaño de un estadio de fútbol.
tamaño de un estadio de fútbol.
02:27
we need to blow up the blueberry,
up to the size of a football stadium.
up to the size of a football stadium.
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02:32
So imagine a ball the size
of a football stadium,
of a football stadium,
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Imaginemos una pelota del tamaño de un estadio de fútbol
02:35
and right smack dab
in the center of the atom,
in the center of the atom,
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y que nos sumergimos en el centro del átomo,
02:38
you would find the nucleus,
and you could see it!
and you could see it!
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encontraríamos el núcleo, ¡podríamos verlo!
Tendría el tamaño de una canica pequeña.
02:41
And it would be the size
of a small marble.
of a small marble.
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Y hay más, si es que aún la cabeza
no les ha explotado.
no les ha explotado.
02:45
And there's more, if I haven't
blown your mind by now.
blown your mind by now.
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Veamos un poco más del átomo. Tiene protones, neutrones y electrones.
02:47
Let's consider the atom some more.
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02:49
It contains protons,
neutrons and electrons.
neutrons and electrons.
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Los protones y neutrones viven dentro del núcleo,
02:51
The protons and neutrons
live inside of the nucleus,
live inside of the nucleus,
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y contiene casi toda la masa del átomo.
02:54
and contain almost
all of the mass of the atom.
all of the mass of the atom.
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Bien en el borde están los electrones.
02:56
Way on the edge are the electrons.
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02:58
So if an atom is like a ball
the size of a football stadium,
the size of a football stadium,
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Si el átomo fuera una pelota del tamaño de un estadio de fútbol
03:01
with the nucleus in the center,
and the electrons on the edge,
and the electrons on the edge,
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con el núcleo en el centro, con los electrones en el borde,
¿qué hay entre el núcleo y los electrones?
03:03
what is in between the nucleus
and the electrons?
and the electrons?
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Sorprendentemente, la respuesta es:
espacio vacío.
espacio vacío.
03:07
Surprisingly, the answer is empty space.
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(Ruido de viento)
03:10
(Wind noise)
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Correcto. ¡Vacío!
03:13
That's right. Empty!
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03:15
Between the nucleus and the electrons,
there are vast regions of empty space.
there are vast regions of empty space.
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Entre el núcleo y los electrones, hay vastas
regiones de espacio vacío.
regiones de espacio vacío.
Ahora, técnicamente, hay algunos campos electromagnéticos
03:19
Now, technically there are
some electromagnetic fields,
some electromagnetic fields,
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pero en términos de materia, está vacío.
03:21
but in terms of stuff,
matter, it is empty.
matter, it is empty.
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Recuerden que esta vasta región de espacio vacío
03:24
Remember this vast region of empty space
is inside the blueberry,
is inside the blueberry,
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está dentro del arándano, que está
dentro de la Tierra,
dentro de la Tierra,
03:28
which is inside the Earth,
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que en verdad son los átomos del pomelo.
03:30
which really are the atoms
in the grapefruit.
in the grapefruit.
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Bien, una cosa más. Si es que puede
hacerse más extraño.
hacerse más extraño.
03:32
OK, one more thing,
if I can even get more bizarre.
if I can even get more bizarre.
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Dado que prácticamente toda la masa del
átomo está en el núcleo...
átomo está en el núcleo...
03:36
Since virtually all the mass
of an atom is in the nucleus --
of an atom is in the nucleus --
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hay algo de masa en los electrones,
03:40
now, there is some amount
of mass in the electrons,
of mass in the electrons,
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pero la mayoría está en el núcleo,
03:43
but most of it is in the nucleus --
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¿qué densidad tiene el núcleo?
03:45
how dense is the nucleus?
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Bueno, la respuesta es loca.
03:46
Well, the answer is crazy.
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La densidad de un núcleo típico
03:48
The density of a typical nucleus
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es de 4 por 10 a la 17 kilogramos por metro cúbico.
03:50
is four times 10 to the 17th
kilograms per meter cubed.
kilograms per meter cubed.
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Pero es difícil de ver. Bueno, lo pondré en unidades inglesas:
03:54
But that's hard to visualize.
OK, I'll put it in English units.
OK, I'll put it in English units.
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2,5 por 10 a la 16
03:57
2.5 times 10 to the 16th pounds
per cubic feet.
per cubic feet.
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libras por pie cúbico.
Bien, sigue siendo difícil de imaginar.
04:02
OK, that's still kind of hard to figure.
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Haré lo siguiente.
04:04
OK, here's what I want you to do.
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Hagamos una caja de 30 cm, por 30 cm, por 30 cm.
04:06
Make a box that is one foot
by one foot by one foot.
by one foot by one foot.
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Ahora tomemos todos los núcleos contenidos
en dos autos típicos.
en dos autos típicos.
04:10
Now let's go and grab
all of the nuclei from a typical car.
all of the nuclei from a typical car.
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Los autos pesan en promedio 2 toneladas.
04:14
Now, cars on average weigh two tons.
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¿Cuántos núcleos de autos habría que
poner en la caja
poner en la caja
04:16
How many cars' nuclei would you
have to put into the box
have to put into the box
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para que nuestra caja de 30 cm de lado tenga la densidad el núcleo?
04:20
to have your one-foot-box have
the same density of the nucleus?
the same density of the nucleus?
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¿Un auto? ¿Dos? ¿Qué tal 100?
04:23
Is it one car? Two?
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04:24
How about 100?
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No, no y no.
04:26
Nope, nope and nope.
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La cantidad es mucho más grande.
04:28
The answer is much bigger.
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Es 6 200 millones.
04:30
It is 6.2 billion.
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Es casi la cantidad de personas de la Tierra.
04:34
That is almost equal to the number
of people in the Earth.
of people in the Earth.
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Si todos los habitantes de la Tierra tuviese su propio auto
04:37
So if everyone in the Earth
owned their own car --
owned their own car --
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y si...
04:39
and they don't --
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04:40
(Cars honking)
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los pusiéramos a todos en la caja,
04:42
and we put all of those
cars into your box ...
cars into your box ...
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ésta tendría la densidad de un núcleo.
04:46
That would be about
the density of a nucleus.
the density of a nucleus.
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Es decir, si metiéramos todos los autos del mundo en la caja de 30 cm de lado,
04:49
So I'm saying that if you took
every car in the world
every car in the world
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04:52
and put it into your one-foot box,
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tendríamos la densidad de un núcleo.
04:54
you would have the density of one nucleus.
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Bien, repasemos.
04:57
OK, let's review.
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El átomo es muy, muy, muy pequeño.
04:58
The atom is really,
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04:59
really, really small.
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Pensemos los átomos de un pomelo
como arándanos en la Tierra.
como arándanos en la Tierra.
05:02
Think atoms in a grapefruit
like blueberries in the Earth.
like blueberries in the Earth.
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El núcleo es extremadamente pequeño.
05:06
The nucleus is crazy small.
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Ahora veamos el interior del arándano, expandámoslo al tamaño de un estadio de fútbol,
05:09
Now look inside the blueberry,
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05:10
and blow it up to the size
of a football stadium,
of a football stadium,
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y ahora el núcleo es una canica en el centro.
05:13
and now the nucleus
is a marble in the middle.
is a marble in the middle.
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El átomo se compone de vastas regiones de espacio vacío.
05:16
The atom is made up
of vast regions of empty space.
of vast regions of empty space.
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Eso es extraño.
05:20
That's weird.
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El núcleo tiene una densidad muy alta.
05:21
The nucleus has a crazy-high density.
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Piensen en todos esos autos en una caja de 30 cm de lado.
05:23
Think of putting all those cars
in your one-foot box.
in your one-foot box.
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Estoy cansado.
05:27
I think I'm tired.
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(Bostezo)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jon Bergmann - EducatorJon Bergmann co-wrote the book on the "flipped classroom" -- using video to help students master new ideas outside the traditional class setting.
Why you should listen
Jon Bergmann is considered one of the pioneers in the Flipped Class Movement -- in fact, he co-wrote the book on the Flipped Classroom, available from ISTE Press in June 2012. Bergmann believes educators should ask one guiding question: What is best for my students in my classroom? To the best of his abilities he has done this in his two-plus decades as a high school science teacher. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence for Math and Science Teaching in 2002 and was named Semi-Finalist for Colorado Teacher of the Year in 2010. He blogs at flipped-learning.com.
He is the Lead Technology Facilitator for the Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, Illinois.
Read about the making of "How Small Is an Atom?" >>
Jon Bergmann | Speaker | TED.com