4 ms·
How often do objects interact with our bodies when passing through us? Neutrinos, very rarely. The atoms of an aluminum bat, very commonly. Light? It depends.
by scarmig 7y ago
How often do objects interact with our bodies when passing through us? Neutrinos, very rarely. The atoms of an aluminum bat, very commonly. Light? It depends.
Something being "empty" or "full" all depends on spatial and energetic scale.
- andrewprock 7y agoYeah, the fact that neutrinos pass through us largely validates the notion that we are in fact mostly empty space.
- saagarjha 7y agoDepending on the conditions, it is through that neutrinos can pass through even very degenerate matter like that which forms neutron stars. "Empty space" really doesn't mean all that much if the thing that is interacting with it does so weakly.
- knzhou 7y agoBut visible light can't get through us at all. Does that prove that we aren't empty space? The whole point is that this criterion is incredibly ambiguous.
- jcelerier 7y ago> But visible light can't get through us at all. visible light definitely gets through me when I put my hand in front of a bright light source
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- simonh 7y agoWell, light passes through glass so transparency doesn't seem to be a credible measure of solidity.
- andrewprock 6y agoI think you mean that solidity is not a credible measure of space being filled.