Both Uses of
atom
in
Girl Interrupted
- The group had an atomic structure: a nucleus of nuts surrounded by darting, nervous nurse-electrons charged with our protection.†
*
- So when we went to Bailey's in Waverley Square with our retinue of nurses, the arrangement of atoms in our molecule was more complex than it appeared to the engineers' wives sipping coffee at the counter and graciously pretending not to look at us.†
Definition:
-
(atom) the smallest part of any material that cannot be broken up by chemical means; comprised of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by orbiting electrons