科學上的原子
字面用法：物質切到最小的那個單位。
smallest part of an element · noun · B2
The smallest part of an element. One atom can exist on its own, or it can join with other atoms to make a molecule.
原子
核心畫面
A picture worth holding: the last piece left when you keep cutting something in half and finally cannot cut any more. Whatever else atom means, it points at that smallest possible bit — the end of the dividing.
「你把東西一直對半切、一直切，最後切到不能再切的那一小塊」。atom 指的就是那個「切到底」的單位。科學上它是元素最…更多收起
「你把東西一直對半切、一直切，最後切到不能再切的那一小塊」。atom 指的就是那個「切到底」的單位。科學上它是元素最小的粒子，可以自己存在，也可以跟別的原子接在一起變成分子；但更根本的畫面比較像「小到極限、再往下就沒有了」。這個「極限的小」正是它後來被拿來當強調用語的原因。From the word’s history
Greek atomos = 'uncuttable' (a- 'not' + temnein 'to cut') — the thing that cannot be divided further.
源自希臘文 atomos，意思是「不可切分的」（a- 不 + temnein 切）。當初命名時，人們以為這就是切到底、再也切不開的東西；這個「切不下去了」的想法直接就是今天的核心畫面，也解釋了為什麼 atom 會被借去表示「一丁點」。
Oxford English Dictionary / Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline), s.v. 'atom'
Two branches
一丁點（強調用）
從「小到極限」的畫面延伸出來的比喻：既然原子是最小的東西，那「連一個原子都沒有」就等於「完全沒有」。
tiniest amount · noun · C1
A very small amount of something. You use it to make what you say stronger, and it almost always comes after a negative word, as in 'not an atom of'.
一絲；絲毫
原始詞典資料13 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Atomname
- 1
A Meitei surname from Manipuri
atomnoun/ˈætəm/
- 1
chemistrynatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesThe smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the water-oxidizing complex, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.
- 2
historyhuman-sciencessciencesA hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
- 3
The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
- Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
- But at this critical moment the pirate astern sent a mischievous shot and knocked one of the men to atoms at the helm.
- 4
human-sciencesphilosophysciencesIn logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
- 5
historicalThe smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
- 6
A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
- 7
A very small amount; a whit.
- "Doctor, tell me one word more," said Theodore, quivering with suppressed emotion. "How do you think it will end?" / "I have hardly the faintest atom of hope," answered this honest, earnest man.
- We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.
- 8
LispcomputingengineeringAn individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
另外 4 個記錄的用法
- 9
computingengineeringmathematicsAn integer representing a particular string.
- 10
mathematicssciencesA non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that the poset has a least element, its "zero").
- In a Venn diagram, an atom is depicted as an area circumscribed by lines but not cut by any line.
- 11
mathematicssciencesset-theoryAn element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
- 12
An age group division in hockey for nine- to eleven-year-olds.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。