How small is small?

Nanoscience deals with the extremely tiny: distances less than 100 nanometres (nm). But just how small is that? To help you get a handle on the very small scale of nanotechnology, we have put together this simple interactive demonstration.

What does a nanoparticle look like?
If a nanoparticle was scaled up to the size of a football, how big would you be if you were blown up by the same size?
How big would other things be if they were enlarged by the same amount?

Find out by viewing how small is small.

How to download the animation to play it offline

The animation is available to download so that it can be played offline. You will need Flash Player v6. Download the player from Macromedia. The software is free to download.

PC users - To download the activity for offline use you will need to:

Click on the appropriate link below.
If a dialogue box appears, click on save and choose a destination for the file.
When the download is complete, if WinZip hasn't opened automatically, double click on the nanoanimation.zip file to open WinZip.
Extract the nanoanimation.exe file contained within, then double click on it to play the game. (Haven't got WinZip? Download now.)

Mac users - To download the activity for offline use you will need to:

Hold down the command key and click on the appropriate link below. The file will be downloaded to your desktop.
Double click on the file for StuffIt Expander to extract the contents. (Haven't got StuffIt Expander? Download now.)
Double click on the extracted file to run the animation.

PC [.zip file 581KB]

Mac [.hqx file 1.8MB]

Please contact the webmaster – webmaster@wellcome.ac.uk – if you need help.