How do we know that most of an atom is empty space? And since that is so, why can’t we just walk through solid objects?
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Describing an atom as “mostly empty space” is a simplification that isn’t quite right – because talking about “empty” versus “filled” space at atomic and subatomic scales doesn’t really make sense.
The image of electrons, protons and neutrons as solid ‘balls’ made of something solid with a clear boundary is convenient for many applications, and makes for a good intuitive image – but it’s also wrong in some regards.
Atom-atom and particle-particle interactions don’t happen because particles are “solid” and bump into another – they happen because of *forces* transmitting the interaction. For example, the reason you can’t walk through a solid object is because the electrons in your body and the electrons in the solid object repel each other – to you, atoms are effectively solid balls because you interact electrically.
To a particle that doesn’t interact electrically (such as a neutron), atoms are essentially made of mostly empty space – because the neutron can only interact with the atom’s nucleus via the strong nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force has a much shorter range than the electromagnetic force.
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