From that article, the ratio Rp to Re is about 83. But the more I look, the more answers I find. Scienceworld has 0.80+ fm for the proton, is silent on the electron. Comparing the following two (Physics Factbook), they could be about equal. "The electron is a point-like particle-that is, a particle with no measurable dimensions, at least within the limitations of present-day instrumentation. "
It's actually a limit of the model, not of the measuring device. The electron has angular momentum, but even if it were only as big as the smallest allowed size in quantum mechanics (Plank's constant), the speed of rotation would be faster than the speed of light. Since this is impossible, the model just defines the size of the electron as 0.
> at least within the limitations of present-day instrumentation
At least that gives a maximum size for the electron while it is interacting like a particle, though true, it is probably quite a bit smaller.
The fun thing to do, would be to draw the full s orbital, noting that the electron can interact with anything inside (and a bit outside) the full 11 mile radius sphere.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15911579/Derivation-of-Fundamental...
From that article, the ratio Rp to Re is about 83. But the more I look, the more answers I find. Scienceworld has 0.80+ fm for the proton, is silent on the electron. Comparing the following two (Physics Factbook), they could be about equal. "The electron is a point-like particle-that is, a particle with no measurable dimensions, at least within the limitations of present-day instrumentation. "
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/DannyDonohue.shtml
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/YelenaMeskina.shtml
Doesn't nullify the point that atoms are empty space - but comparing radii is risky business.