Would there be a mole of grains of sand on planet Earth?

Abstract

This paper promotes a reflection on the magnitude of Avogadro's number. It is a fundamental quantity in chemistry, which creates a “connection” between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds. Avogadro proposed that in a given mass of gas under the same temperature and pressure conditions, there would be the same number of molecules. In 1860, this hypothesis was presented at the famous Karlsruhe Congress in Germany, attended by famous scientists, and aimed at standardizing the nomenclature and atomic masses. At the beginning of the 20th century, questions about Avogadro's number, Brownian motion, and especially whether atoms and molecules were real entities, were deeply related. Two great scientists, Albert Einstein and Jean Perrin answered them. One of the most fascinating aspects of Avogadro's number is its size and ability to demonstrate how tiny the atomic world is concerning the world we experience. The question in the title functions as a comparative confrontation between them. The almost immediate answer to the question is yes. There is undoubtedly many more than one mole of grains of sand. However, as will be shown, the result is quite surprising.