Atoms can’t fall through each other because their electron clouds repel each other. Push them together as hard as you want, and they will resist. They have force fields around them. Atoms don’t actually ever touch–their force fields do. Those 2 tiny...

Atoms can’t fall through each other because their electron clouds repel each other. Push them together as hard as you want, and they will resist. They have force fields around them. Atoms don’t actually ever touch–their force fields do. Those 2 tiny electrons smeared around these atoms do that, even though the empty space inside the atoms is huge.

(BS alert: It’s not actually a force, but this is the easiest way to describe it. Fair warning.)

Tags: science nuclear atoms force fields