How big is an electron compared with a proton?

1 Answer
Feb 3, 2014

A proton has about 1836 times the mass of an electron.

Explanation:

Nobody knows the exact sizes, but a proton has about 1836 times the mass of an electron.

The mass of a proton is 1.0073 u, and the mass of an electron is #5.486 × 10^"-5"color(white)(l) "u"#.

Therefore, a proton has about 1836 times the mass of an electron.

The best estimate that I can find is that the radius of a proton is about #88 × 10^"-16"color(white)(l) "m"# and the radius of an electron is about #2.8 × 10^"-15"color(white)(l) "m"#.

If they are correct, then a electron has about three times the diameter of a proton.