How do we hold objects (such as keys, books or anything else) if we have never touched anything?

I have read that everything is made up of atoms with nucleus surrounded by electron shells.....repelling electrons of other atoms......it means we can never touch anything around us.....so how do we carry objects?

1 Answer
Mar 10, 2018

Because of electromagnetic forces.

Explanation:

Most of the space is empty, though it doesn't seem to be. At tiny scales, there is just too much of empty space.

It is true that we never touch anything, like while typing this answer I'm not really touching the screen but the distance is simply too small.

We know that like charges repel and in an atom electrons revolve around nucleus in specific orbits. What would happen if you bring two atoms close enough. Well, there are a lot of possibilities. Those atoms could react with each other, they could attract each other to a certain distance to form lattice or sheets or crystals.. Or they could push each other away.

When we sit on a chair we aren't actually sitting in chair's atoms with a direct contact but we are held up by electromagnetic forces between electrons that ensure a small distance.