MadSci Network: Physics |
Dear Tod, Experiments have been done at high energy particle accelerators which shot fast electrons into protons. If particles took up volume, then when they got close enough they should interact differently. No such effect was found. Particles act like points not extended objects, they seem to take up no volume at all. The reason why things appear to take up space is that long range forces keep them away from each other. For example the reason why two atoms can typically get no closer than an angstrom is that the electrons repell each other through their electric charge. Larry P.S. If you want to learn more about particle physics there is an excellent book by Steven Weinberg entitled "The First Three Minutes".
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