Re:Pi explained
by nitrogen on Saturday June 18, 2011 @11:04AM
(#2668746)
So a string of 24 carbon atoms is not 2 dozen carbon atoms long? Unit=dozen carbon atoms, length=2?
[ Parent
| on HN ]
No. A carbon atom does not have a fixed size.
And especially when you attach atoms together the spacing between them varies depending on the strength and type of the bond.
Additionally, molecules are constantly in motion (heat) - one of the motions is changing the size of the spacing between them.
But even if you froze it to absolute zero (which is impossible), it doesn't matter, the size is not determinate, it's only probabilistic.
So a real physical object can never have a fixed size.