Physics- I hope this is an easy one!!!

I'd guess it would be becuase the denisty of the "ground" (i.e. all the material that makes up the earth) is enough that our body mass can't fit through it.

It's the same reason a fish gets caught in a net when the openings in the net are smaller than the fish's body is.

electromagnetic fields?

LittleK is mostly correct. As atoms get closer and closer the forces pushing them apart get stronger an stronger. Most of the repulsive force that you feel can be explained as electromagnetic force.

The atom has a positive nucleus and negative electrons. The "classical" model simply attributes this repulsion to the fact that since like charges repel, the negative electrons repel each other as the atoms got close.

Modern physics is a bit more complex - since we now use Quantum mechanics to describe the behavior of atomic particles. Fortuanity in this case the QM comes up with pretty much the same picture as the classical.

So it easy and correct to say that the atoms repel as they get close to each other. The nucleii will never touch.

The reason they repel is a bit more complex, I am not sure that you would like a discourse on Quantum Mechanics. Saying the electrons repel each other is also correct (but it misses a part of the story).

Is this good enough?

Thank you all for your quick reply :wink: .
I can see that we have some experts around .
Take care.

ha! I'm no expert.

Incidently the original question was not quite correct...

Matter is really closer to 99.99999% empty space.

or is that space filled with little pockets of vibrating strings? Just watched a physics lecture by a guy named Greene.

Because God holds you there in his mind. Kind of like I'm washing that pile of dishes in my mind right now.

pdog, would you wash my dishes too, please? You can mentally have some of the roast chicken that's left if you do...

I don't think there's anything "solid" at all. In other words, there are no particles, just fields. Just my opinion

Best Regards,

Thank you all for your help.
I'll have another little challenge coming up in no time :wink:
Bye.