Are we actually making physical contact?

[Corellon]

I have come up with an idea; I think that I have a way to prove that physical contact is impossible.

 

Well my idea is that, since everything is made of atoms, and an atom is made of a nucleus, protons and neutrons, and has an electron cloud surrounding, than if you try to push two atoms together without the right amount of force, the electrons clouds will push away from each other therefore causing a minute space in between objects.

[insane_alien]

depends on your definition of contact. in physics, contact just means an interaction. so technically, you could say we are in contact with every particle in exitence right now. the effects just don't become all that noticable until you're realy close though.

[Klaynos]

Yes there is a gap, but there are virtual photons passing between the outer electron shells (and all the others too)

[foodchain]

Well you can look at the effects of exposing organisms to various types of radiation, or the idea or concept that you yourself are composed of atoms basically in some particular format working from various physical laws and or parameters that seem to be universal. I mean the keys on my keyboard were occupying a certain position in space and time until I altered such by pressing them, being its all physical in that sense I had to have then ultimately physically interacted with such keys to generate this post. Also it would seem if physical interaction were impossible in the implied sense I get from this post evolution as in organic evolution probably would have never occurred.

[alan2here]

I think normally it is accepted that contact means between two physical things, so magnets don't make contact pushing each other away, and that there is a small gap but it is so tiny it doesn't matter. none of the particles are real anyway they are all particle waves (can be thought of as both) they are not little spheres of solid matter as much as little wavelets.

 

maybe insane alien is in contact with everything up to 160m light years from himself