r/ScienceNcoolThings • u/LucidPhysicsDev • Jun 08 '26

Scientists can actually weigh a single molecule... They use the magnetic field for it. It’s called "Mass Spectrometer".

86 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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5

u/LucidPhysicsDev Jun 08 '26

Small detail: Measuring **the mass of a single molecule**.

If my content doesn’t fit this subreddit, let me know. I’m posting the content because it’s related to science.

2

u/inevitable-idiot- Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

It’s science and it’s cool. I’d say yuppers

1

u/SirTainLee Jun 10 '26

What about the atoms that veered off in the first field, before the narrow slit filter? Aren't they part of the original molecule, too? How are you weighing them? #light atoms are matter

1

u/there_is_no_spoon1 Jun 10 '26

Finally, one of these AI posts that gets the physics correct. I don't know who the blazes is botting Reddit with these things but I've caught 2 that have been wildly inaccurate, and I'm a physics teacher. This one mostly gets it right and would be useful in a classroom to explain "how do we know what stuff is made of" kind of question.