When Two Objects Touch What Is Actually Touching?

[ToraToraTora]

Is anything actually touching? I mean almost all matter is empty space so lets take two snooker balls when they touch the valence electron shells are the best candidate for actual contact but what is that contact like on an atomic level. Is contact actually real? are we looking at the damage to the outer layers of the atoms with nucleuses getting together? Or is actual contact an illusion?

[Old_Geezer]

I think the force fields keep particles apart.

[1ozzy]

What is touching TTT is your tenacity

[Mozz71]

Are you trying to avoid having to play away from a touching ball gonna frame down your local club?

[1ozzy]

Oops, this question was in science, silly me😪

[mibn2cweus]

Atoms are elastic. They will compress proportionally in response to a force applied to them. This is similar to how two balloons react when pressed together but on a much smaller scale.

[PsalmEquipt]

There is no actual contact. The electron clouds of each object repel each other due to like charges repelling.

When there's no visible space between objects and we experience a sensation of contact upon pressing them together we say they are touching. However, from a microscopic perspective, there's always a tiny gap between the objects due to the way electrons behave.

[ToraToraTora]

Thanks Psalm.

[douglas9401]

Does that apply to cloth as well?

[ToraToraTora]

It applies to everything. Nothing actually touches. CTG may well be able to add to this.