Learn more physics!
Q:
Where can I find a picture of the atoms all together making up the element called platinum?
- Jason S (age 14)
Centennial JHS, Casper Wy, USA
A:
Jason -
Solid platinum is a silvery-white metal:
It's crystal form has what's called a "cubic-closest-packed"
structure. In this structure, each atom is like the corner of a cube,
and extra atoms are nestled into each side of the cube. Here's two
pictures of this:
In this picture (above), the atoms are really small, so it's easy to see what the structure looks like.
In reality, the atoms are packed really closely together. This picture shows this pretty well.
Thanks to
WebElements.com for these pictures.
-Tamara
(published on 10/22/2007)
Follow-up on this answer.
