Molecules are the building blocks of matter.


You’ve probably heard that before, right? But that does it mean? What does a molecule look like? How big are they?


While you technically can measure the size of a molecule, despite the fact it’s usually too small to do even with a regular microscope, what you can’t do is see an image of the molecule itself. The reason has to do with the limits of nature and wavelengths of light, not because our technology isn’t there yet, or we’re not smart enough to figure it out. Scientists have to get creative about the ways they do about measuring something that isn’t possible to see with the eyes.


Here’s a cool experiment you can do that will approximate the size of a molecule. Here’s what you need:


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