When atoms are made up of almost nothing and the cores cannot touch, how is it that stuff can be stacked on top of other stuff and touch?

Question

My son asked me this today, and while I thought that I had a sorta kinda basic idea (the cores don’t need to touch as it’s enough if the the electron cloud-thingies interact), I could not explain it so he could understand and neither was I sure enough of this being the correct answer. Can anyone help?

In: 6

Answer 1

Maybe if you think of a 3D cube made of netting where each and every crossing is a repelling magnet. This would push on every neighbor magnet and none of them would therefor touch, ever. Between all these magnets is there nothing, except the strings (made of the strong force).

If you now try to place another 3D cube on top of the first one, would they both repel each other and never touch, even that the top most, don’t fall through the lower one.