Hey There! Welcome To Life Noggin! Everything in the universe is made up of atoms. Atoms are 99.9999999% empty space. So that means you humans, the walls you want
to walk through, and everything around you is mostly empty space. It’s mind boggling, but if that’s true,
why can’t we pass through that empty space? Atoms are made of electrons and a nucleus
containing protons and neutrons. We usually see atoms drawn like this, but
these sketches are nowhere near to scale. Let’s say an atom is the size of a melon. If that’s the case, then the nucleus and
the electrons would be too small to even see! So yeah, there’s lots of empty space. But it’s not entirely empty. In those basic sketches of atoms, it’s usually
illustrated that electrons orbit around the nucleus just like our planet orbits the sun. But in actuality, electrons swarm around that
empty space in cloud formations. Think about it like a fan. It may seem like there’s lots of empty space,
but when it’s turned on, you can see that the blades are basically everywhere all at
once. Now, theoretically, if you tried to stick
your hand into that fan, you’d see that your hand and the fan blades can’t exist
in the same place at once… No, Triangle Bob, I said theoretically! Anyway, two things cannot exist in the same
place at once and the same goes for electrons. This theory is called the Pauli Exclusion
Principle. No two electrons can be in the same state
or configuration. On a basic level, this is why you can’t
walk through walls. So, you can’t pass through an object, but
did you know you actually can’t even touch them either? If you did stick your hand in that fan, you’d
feel the blades hitting your hand, but you wouldn’t actually be feeling the blades. You’ve never truly felt an object ever! Yes, i know this sounds pretty wacky, but bear with us. You know how the negative end of a magnet
repels other negative magnets? That’s what’s happening when you try to
touch anything. It’s like there’s a little invisible force
field between you and everything you touch. It’s poked and prodded, but never broken. It’s the same with everything else in the
universe too. Now, you obviously can’t, but if you were
to actually walk through a wall, it would basically break science. Electrons are fermions and have to obey the
Pauli Exclusion Principle. But bosons, another type of subatomic particle,
don’t. And if fermions started acting like bosons,
the Universe would be a very weird place. My head hurts just thinking about it. But we aren’t completely hopeless! There’s still quantum tunneling, which is
where a very tiny particle can make its way across a barrier even though, according to
classical mechanics, it doesn't have the energy to do so. And this isn’t just some wacky idea -- tunneling
is used in scanning tunneling microscopes. Basically, electrons have a small probability
of tunneling between the surface of the solid and a tiny tip on the microscope. If you wanted to use phenomenon to walk through walls, you’d need every single particle. in your body to tunnel through the barrier. And sadly, the probability of that happening is very, very small. Thanks to my animator though, I can pass through whatever I like. See? Although it does kinda make me feel funny right after. If you could choose one super power, what would it be? Let us know in the comment section below! Thank you so much to Honey for sponsoring
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to joinhoney.com/LifeNoggin, or click the link in the description below. As always, I'm Blocko, this has been Life
Noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking.
