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jondy1703 jondy1703
 
December 17, 2008 11:16 PM

Is there a (single) molecule (natural or synthetic) that is so large, it can be seen by the naked human eye?

I asked this question to ChaCha a while ago and didn't even receive a "sorry, but we cannot answer that question." So I'm wondering what crowd-sourcing will turn up.

All that I can think up off of the top of my mind would be something along the lines of graphite and diamonds, so is there anything that I'm missing?

Please cite sources!
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mrgunn mrgunn
 
 December 20, 2008 11:29 PM
This is an interesting question, but as you can see from the answers, the issue isn't quite as clear as it may have seemed at first.

Like crystals, polymers are single molecules, and if they are large enough, they can quite easily be seen with the naked eye. When a polymer is between 0.1 micron and 1 micron in size, you may not be able to distinguish the individual particles, but they will scatter light such that they will be visible.


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answerman answerman
 
December 17, 2008 11:24 PM
Apparently, carbon nanotubes.


Perhaps there are polymers like nylon that fit the bill, though I'm just guessing.
Source(s):
http://www.nanohealthalliance.org/news-items/breakthrough-technique-yields-...


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jondy1703 jondy1703
 
December 17, 2008 11:32 PM
I guess polymers do fit the bill, never thought of them like that.

I was actually reading my textbook which was going over carbon nanotubes when I thought of the question.

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aravindjos... aravindjos...
 
December 18, 2008 01:40 AM
Polymers are indeed huge.
But, I wonder whether one molecule of a polymer is visible to naked eye.

I've learned that polymers are the chain of big molecules.
But, Polymers, are the closest answer, I believe.

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shatter shatter
 
December 17, 2008 11:26 PM
DNA molecules can reach macroscopic (visible to the naked eye) size, as can some polymers-- I couldnt find anything to corroborate this last part online, but I recall learning in science class that asphalt is an example of a macroscopic polymer chain, as whole large sections of road could actually be composed of a single molecule, but as I said, this last parts from memory.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule#Molecular_size


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cmatbmed cmatbmed
 
December 17, 2008 11:28 PM
A diamond is a single molecule of covalently bonded carbon atoms.
Source(s):
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/chem/CHEM029.HTM


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jondy1703 jondy1703
 
December 17, 2008 11:37 PM
Yeah, I know. That's what I said in the extra info section.

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jonathan h jonathan h
 
December 17, 2008 11:28 PM
This appears to be a pretty tough question to answer. The closest I get to anything definitive is from a chemist on the MadSci network. He says:
"A diamond crystal is a single covalently-bonded carbon molecule. The largest one found to date was named the Cullinan, massing 621.2 grams. Cured epoxy resin, crosslinked silicone, cured polyester resin... almost any extensively crosslinked thermoset resin approximates to one big molecule."

I may be reading this wrong, but it seems to indicate that diamond crystals are all single molecules, which would of course make them visible to the naked eye.

It doesn't seem intuitive at all to me and my instincts of course say "no."
Source(s):
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-11/975640245.Ch.r.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullinan_Diamond


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jondy1703 jondy1703
 
December 17, 2008 11:33 PM
That's exactly how i feel. I guess it's too much to ask for a large molecule that isn't just something repeated multiple times haha.

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williamwac... williamwac...
 
December 17, 2008 11:29 PM
Yes.
Diamond.
Source(s):
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-11/975640245.Ch.r.html


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jondy1703 jondy1703
 
December 17, 2008 11:36 PM
I know that already haha. I was asking if there was anything I missed.

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tekno tekno
 
December 18, 2008 12:21 AM
DNA can be seen if combined strands are long enough to form a macromolecule (still considered a molecule) and it DOES occur in nature. See sources for a nice document posted by Pen State if you want to see it for yourself at home. I have used this for classroom instruction in AP biology class for highschoolers
Source(s):
www.ipse.psu.edu/activities/dna/eye.doc


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edd edd
 
December 18, 2008 01:41 AM
Cellulose is a very common organic macromolecule, and is considered to be 33% of all plant matter. While it tends to be contaminated by other substances, it's crystalline nature allows it to occur in extremely large macromolecule form.
Source(s):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose


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muffins muffins
 
December 18, 2008 02:32 AM
Diamonds are single molecules. Graphite(on a pencil) is a single molecule. Certain polymers are macroscopic, and DNA can be seen when it clumps together in large quantities, although it is then not strictly a single molecule.

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rame200020... rame200020...
 
December 20, 2008 01:49 AM
There is no such molecule which could be viewed with naked eye.

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mrgunn mrgunn
 
December 20, 2008 11:23 PM - Fact Refuted
polymers are single molecules

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