That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post Reply
User avatar
FBM
Ratz' first Gritizen.
Posts: 45327
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach"
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by FBM » Fri May 24, 2013 10:49 am

As long as we don't have to dig up peer-reviewed stuff:
http://education.jlab.org/qa/atomicstructure_10.html

| Return to the Question and Answer Archive Index Page |
If atoms are 99.999999999999% empty space then why don't things pass right through them?
Things don't fall through other things because they are levitating on an electrostatic field! I am not kidding! When you sit on a chair, you are not really touching it. You see, every atom is surrounded by a shell of electrons. This electron cloud presents a rather negative face to the world. Remember that like charges repel each other. When two atoms approach each other, their electron shells push back at each other, despite the fact that each atom's net charge is 0. This is a very useful feature of nature. It makes our lives a lot easier.

Now the question you should be asking is, if atoms push away from each other, why doesn't the entire universe just blow away from itself? The answer is that some, actually most atoms' electron shells are not full. When two atoms come together and have empty spaces in their electron shells, they will share electrons to fill in the spaces in both of their shells. Yes, the electrons really do go back and forth between atoms and they do so pretty fast. Electrons tend to be kind of mobile, which is also a very nice feature of nature, since without it your walkman would not work. Once both atoms' outer shells are full due to this electron sharing, they go back to their usual repulsive behavior. This, by the way, is how we get molecules and the secret to understanding Chemistry. It's all about the electrons!

Author:
Brian Kross, Chief Detector Engineer
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken

"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."

"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."

User avatar
FBM
Ratz' first Gritizen.
Posts: 45327
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach"
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by FBM » Fri May 24, 2013 10:51 am

Blind groper wrote:Amazing fact. Post 3 by Svartalf is widely believed by intelligent people, in spite of the fact that some human cells last a lifetime, and others are recycled in weeks. Why do people believe such urban myths?
Yeah, I dug into that one a while back and found out that some cranial neurons are said to last a lifetime. However, since those neurons are biologically active, they're still subject to the Ship of Theseus paradox.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken

"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."

"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 10:51 am

FBM wrote:As long as we don't have to dig up peer-reviewed stuff:
http://education.jlab.org/qa/atomicstructure_10.html

| Return to the Question and Answer Archive Index Page |
If atoms are 99.999999999999% empty space then why don't things pass right through them?
Things don't fall through other things because they are levitating on an electrostatic field! I am not kidding! When you sit on a chair, you are not really touching it. You see, every atom is surrounded by a shell of electrons. This electron cloud presents a rather negative face to the world. Remember that like charges repel each other. When two atoms approach each other, their electron shells push back at each other, despite the fact that each atom's net charge is 0. This is a very useful feature of nature. It makes our lives a lot easier.

Now the question you should be asking is, if atoms push away from each other, why doesn't the entire universe just blow away from itself? The answer is that some, actually most atoms' electron shells are not full. When two atoms come together and have empty spaces in their electron shells, they will share electrons to fill in the spaces in both of their shells. Yes, the electrons really do go back and forth between atoms and they do so pretty fast. Electrons tend to be kind of mobile, which is also a very nice feature of nature, since without it your walkman would not work. Once both atoms' outer shells are full due to this electron sharing, they go back to their usual repulsive behavior. This, by the way, is how we get molecules and the secret to understanding Chemistry. It's all about the electrons!

Author:
Brian Kross, Chief Detector Engineer
We've tried and tried to get the electrons to come out of their shells, but they've just been so NEGATIVE. :nono:
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
klr
(%gibber(who=klr, what=Leprageek);)
Posts: 32964
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:25 pm
About me: The money was just resting in my account.
Location: Airstrip Two
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by klr » Fri May 24, 2013 10:55 am

Image
God has no place within these walls, just like facts have no place within organized religion. - Superintendent Chalmers

It's not up to us to choose which laws we want to obey. If it were, I'd kill everyone who looked at me cock-eyed! - Rex Banner

The Bluebird of Happiness long absent from his life, Ned is visited by the Chicken of Depression. - Gary Larson

:mob: :comp: :mob:

User avatar
FBM
Ratz' first Gritizen.
Posts: 45327
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach"
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by FBM » Fri May 24, 2013 10:56 am

They keep their heads in clouds, I guess.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken

"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."

"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 10:57 am

FBM wrote:They keep their heads in clouds, I guess.
The Power of Positive Quarking.
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
mistermack
Posts: 15093
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:57 am
About me: Never rong.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by mistermack » Fri May 24, 2013 12:12 pm

And the hairball?

It weighed in at four pounds, and was roughly the size of a basketball.
Didn't anybody see a problem with that?
While there is a market for shit, there will be assholes to supply it.

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 12:17 pm

mistermack wrote:
And the hairball?

It weighed in at four pounds, and was roughly the size of a basketball.
Didn't anybody see a problem with that?
What?
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
mistermack
Posts: 15093
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:57 am
About me: Never rong.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by mistermack » Fri May 24, 2013 12:22 pm

Gawdzilla Sama wrote:
mistermack wrote:
And the hairball?

It weighed in at four pounds, and was roughly the size of a basketball.
Didn't anybody see a problem with that?
What?
Jeez, do I have to explain? How can a hairball the size of a basketball weigh only four pounds?
Did they dry it in an oven, before they weighed it?
While there is a market for shit, there will be assholes to supply it.

User avatar
Animavore
Nasty Hombre
Posts: 39234
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:26 am
Location: Ire Land.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Animavore » Fri May 24, 2013 12:23 pm

mistermack wrote:
Gawdzilla Sama wrote:
mistermack wrote:
And the hairball?

It weighed in at four pounds, and was roughly the size of a basketball.
Didn't anybody see a problem with that?
What?
Jeez, do I have to explain? How can a hairball the size of a basketball weigh only four pounds?
Did they dry it in an oven, before they weighed it?
Because a hairball is mostly air :think:
Libertarianism: The belief that out of all the terrible things governments can do, helping people is the absolute worst.

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 12:24 pm

mistermack wrote:
Gawdzilla Sama wrote:
mistermack wrote:
And the hairball?

It weighed in at four pounds, and was roughly the size of a basketball.
Didn't anybody see a problem with that?
What?
Jeez, do I have to explain? How can a hairball the size of a basketball weigh only four pounds?
Did they dry it in an oven, before they weighed it?
Why weigh spit?
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 12:25 pm

Animavore wrote:Because a hairball is mostly air :think:
Even a fresh one is very light. (Having had the joy of picking up more than one...)
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
mistermack
Posts: 15093
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:57 am
About me: Never rong.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by mistermack » Fri May 24, 2013 12:26 pm

Animavore wrote: Because a hairball is mostly air :think:
How, when it's inside a stomach full of digestive secretions, does it stay dry?
While there is a market for shit, there will be assholes to supply it.

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri May 24, 2013 12:28 pm

mistermack wrote:
Animavore wrote: Because a hairball is mostly air :think:
How, when it's inside a stomach full of digestive secretions, does it stay dry?
Why don't you ask the folks that did the procedure?: http://wrrfl.org/
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
rainbow
Posts: 13528
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:10 am
About me: Egal wie dicht du bist, Goethe war Dichter
Location: Africa
Contact:

Re: That's amazing ! Post incredible facts here.

Post by rainbow » Fri May 24, 2013 12:35 pm

Butterflies are not made of butter, nor are they flies.
I call bullshit - Alfred E Einstein
BArF−4

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests