Giant Molecules: What's the Largest Known Molecule?

[meteor]

Which is the known molecule that is composed by the major number of atoms? DNA? I know that DNA is made of million of atoms

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Originally posted by meteor
Which is the known molecule that is composed by the major number of atoms? DNA? I know that DNA is made of million of atoms

If you mean the biggest, diamonds are really just real big molecules - called macromolecular. I think a few other forms of carbon may qualify as well.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I am thinking that all crystals qualify as macromolecular structures. Does anyone know if this is correct?

 

[Bystander]

Yes, I know, and, no, it is incorrect.

 

[radagast]

Ivan, I think the implications were covalently bonded molecules. I can get a crystal of sugar, but the sugar molecules are relatively small, compared to diamonds or graphite, and not bound to each other with much more than van der Waal forces. If you include ionic bonds, then the sky is the limit, since salts can form gigantic crystals. Metals form another interesting question in terms of if they are or aren't molecules, since most have an outer electron or so that are, sort of, community property.

Even diamonds and graphite don't really fall into the book definition of molecule (and be considered largest).

With a definition of:

compliments of Miriam-Websters online Dictionary
the smallest particle of a substance that retains all the properties of the substance and is composed of one or more atoms.

Then a large diamond wouldn't be considered a molecule.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Originally posted by radagast
Ivan, I think the implications were covalently bonded molecules. I can get a crystal of sugar, but the sugar molecules are relatively small, compared to diamonds or graphite, and not bound to each other with much more than van der Waal forces. If you include ionic bonds, then the sky is the limit, since salts can form gigantic crystals. Metals form another interesting question in terms of if they are or aren't molecules, since most have an outer electron or so that are, sort of, community property.

Even diamonds and graphite don't really fall into the book definition of molecule (and be considered largest).

With a definition of:


Then a large diamond wouldn't be considered a molecule.

I know I've seen another definition in college but I can't find it in the old class book. Good enough.