Infinite Space v.4.0

Ah, the atom. Once thought to not exist, but then it was photographed, and that died out. For a short while, it was the smallest bit of matter known, then though, along came J.J. Thompson.

His discovery of the electron shocked the world. This was soon followed by the discovery of the nucleus of the atom, and inside that; the proton and neutron. Smaller still were the quarks and muons that followed. Today, the atom remains as the smallest thing that we can directly photograph or manipulate.

Needles that thin down to a single atom at the tip are used to individually "feel" the atoms. Scientists have now just discovered how to move them around with these machines. This could mean a range of nano-machines, or nanobots. Powered by tiny engines and modeled after natural bacteria, they could preform many as of yet impossible tasks. Swarms of them could assemble items molecule by molecule. If they were small enough, perhaps even a living thing could be duplicated. It may now be science fiction, but in the future, these nanobots could be sent to another planet and assemble the astronauts there!

At the atomic scale, there is no life. In fact, most of an atom is just empty space. Imagine zooming into an atom until it is the size of a football stadium, the nucleus of the atom, which accounts for 99.9% of its weight, would be a baseball lying at center field. We would find the electrons out in the stands. It is hard to imagine that our bridges and buildings are made up of mostly empty space. It seems that at the atomic level and below, our rules of physics do not apply.

The Electron, next...