Eli5 why is that an atom is 99,6 % empty space ?
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That is commonly said and is sort of true but not really.
Of one were to imagine electrons like little balls zipping around, then the atom would be kind of like the solar system in terms of “stuff vs. empty space”. One big mass in the centre, a few minor masses around and a whole load of nothing in between.
But that picture isn’t correct in that electrons are NOT balls zipping around. They do not exist in one specific point at a specific time(until they interact with something). They “fill” specific areas around the nucleus according to the specific orbitals’ shapes (and we know what those shapes are).
In other words, that space isn’t really empty, it’s full of the electrons’ quantumly dispersed presence.
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