smallest things in the world

The parasitic bacterium Mycoplasma Genitalium that inhabits the genital and respiratory tracts of primates is widely considered by scientists to be the smallest organism capable of independent growth and reproduction.

Although there is still some debate about what is considered alive and what isnt, most biologists would not classify a virus as a living organism due to the fact that it cannot reproduce or metabolize by itself. A virus, however, can get much smaller than any living organism including the bacterium we just saw. The smallest is the single stranded DNA virus Porcine circovirus you see here. It is only 17 nanometers across.

The smallest objects visible to the unaided human eye are roughly .1mm long. This means that under the right conditions you would be able to see an ameoba proteus, a paramecium, and even a human egg.

Over the last century science has made both great strides into understanding the vastness ofspaceand its microscopic building blocks. When it comes to figuring what the smallest observable particle in the universe is, however, we run up against a bit of a wall. At one point we thought they it was the atom. Then scientists discovered the proton, neutron, and electron. It didnt stop there though. Today we know (by smashing particles together in places like the Large Hadron Collider) that these can be further broken down into even more particles like quarks, leptons, and even antimatter. The issue with trying to figure out which is smaller is that on a quantum level size becomes a bit irrelevant as the rules of physics you are used to living by begin to break down (some particles have no mass, some even have negative mass) Unfortunately, trying to answer this question is something like dividing by zero

Keeping in mind what we just said about the idea of size being irrelevant on a quantum level, there exists something known as string theory and although it is slightly controversial it proposes that all subatomic particles are composed of vibrating strings that interact in order to create things like mass and energy. So, although these strings would technically have no physical dimensions, according to our puny human ability to reason one could say that these strings would be in some sense the smallest objects in the universe.

For the shortA Boy And His Atom, IBM placed atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope to make its actors, props, and scenes. The lead character is a single nanometer in size (one 25 millionth the size of an inch), and Guinness World Records has certified it as the worlds smallest stop motion film.

Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the worlds smallest island with a building on it, Bishop Rock only has room for its lighthouse.

The pygmy rabbit is one ofthe worlds smallest, and is also is one of the few breeds that can dig its own burrow (but I guess the holes dont have to be that big).

The SMART 1, measuring 12 feet long with a 17 foot wingspan, is the worlds smallest manned jet aircraft. Buzz Lightyear would approve.

You know that green stuff you see floating on top of pods? Well, its called rootless duckweed, and its the smallest vascular plant on Earth (legendary plant!).