Cosmic View: The Universe in 40 Jumps
by Kees Boeke
(1957)
page 41
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Powers of ten: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 <> 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13

-7. Magnification here is ten million times, and the structure of the salt crystal can be shown. Distances between the successive layers of sodium (1) and chlorine (2) atoms in the lattice of the crystal are known, though its height would be 5 kilometers on this scale. To the left oxygen (3) and nitrogen (4) molecules are moving about as air at average distances indicated. Nitrogen molecules are more than 3 times as numerous as oxygen. In the inset a schematic sketch is given of just one strand of the flagellum, and even so only the hydrogen atoms on the near side are indicated. Otherwise the representation would become unintelligible, as the other atoms behind them are not placed in regular rows as they are in the salt crystal. Total width of the protein molecule including the amino acids which are bound to the strand is indicated (5).

1 cm. in picture = 10-7 cm. = 0.001 micron Scale = 10,000,000:1 = 107


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This content is from Kees Boeke's book, Cosmic View: The Universe in 40 Jumps. It has been placed online without permission.
Copyright (C) 1957 by Kees Boeke. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photo-copying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission.