• Question: Can you see nano-materials with the naked eye?

    Asked by Tommy Ainsworth to Triona, Simone, Kieran, Julia, Emily on 14 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Kieran

      Kieran answered on 14 Nov 2018:

      Nope! Nano-materials are far too small to be seen by the eye or even with regular microscopes! We need to use powerful electron microscopes to see them!

    • Photo: Emily

      Emily answered on 15 Nov 2018:

      Hi Tommy, thanks for your question,

      Sometimes you can see that nanoparticles are in a solution, but you won’t be able to see the individual nanoparticle with just your eye.

      A neat example: You know what color gold is, but when you make gold into nanoparticles and put them into a solution of water or another liquid, it changes color depending on the size of the nanoparticles!

      Here is a cool video about gold nanoparticles and the color effect:

      Enjoy!

      Emily

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