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My question is very simple. How big is a carbon dioxide ($\mathrm{CO}_2$) molecule, i.e. the width, length and height of it?

peterh
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Mathlight
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$CO_2$ molecule

enter image description here

The molecule is linear (all three atoms are in a co-linear line). The C=O bond is 116 pm, so the entire molecule (from centre of O to other O) is 232 pm. The extent in the other directions normal to the axis of symmetry is not well-defined as the electron cloud is diffuse and depends significantly on environment.

Vineet Menon
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genneth
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    alright, i've got to admit, that i'm not an scientist... so i've you take a millimeter, how far beyond the dot (0.000.....) must i go before i see these numbers (232 pm)... Thanks :P – Mathlight Apr 07 '12 at 21:03
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    picometer is $10^{-12} m$ i.e. a decimal followed by 11 zeros. – Vineet Menon Apr 08 '12 at 06:23
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    alright, so it is around the 0,000 000 000 232 meter... thanks for your help. – Mathlight Apr 10 '12 at 09:40