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The video: https://youtu.be/2xVBAqybA_8?t=185

She got the question: "if atoms are primarily composed of empty space, why can't you pass your hand through a solid object?"

Her answer is: something about the nucleus being her organs and the electrons being her gloves. And electrons can be exchanged easily[1] between atoms. And the reason why the hand can't be passed through the wall is because the nucleus is really dense. The protons/neutrons take up a lot of space. You can easily pass your hand through the spot that has all the electrons but as soon as you touch the nucleus, it is a dense object you cannot pass through.

I think her explanation is wrong on so many levels.

First of all, I thought that the reason why we can't pass our hands through solid objects is because of the Pauli Exclusion Principle - so the reason is the electrons and not the nucleus.

2nd of all, the atom is not empty, it has a lot of wave functions going on.

[1] As far as I know electrons aren't exchanged as gloves are. Electrons are shared?

By the way, I tried to reach out to Wired, but they do not really care about correcting their fake news.

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    $\begingroup$ You are correct that it is not all about the nucleus. The electron clouds repel. So it is like when two strong magnets repel without "touching." $\endgroup$
    – RC_23
    Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 17:39
  • $\begingroup$ @RC_23 ... and the Pauli Exclusion Principle, right? But what about her claim that electrons are exchanged as gloves, isn't that wrong as well? $\endgroup$
    – anon
    Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 17:48
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    $\begingroup$ I think her analogies are for teaching the rough concept children or people with little or no science education. You may be reading too much into it $\endgroup$
    – RC_23
    Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 19:36

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