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For example, What prevents my feet from sinking and blending into the ground? Or my 2 hands from blending and morphing into one when I clap them? Is it merely the density of objects? Space between atoms?

fishamit
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I'll give a go at an answer here. Of course the bonds within a solid work to maintain the physical structure of the solid. Also the electron clouds of the surface atoms extend away from the surface. In general, when you bring two solid objects next to one another, these electron clouds begin to overlap and will produce a repulsive force.

I had a physics teacher one time strike a hammer against a table top. He then turned to the class and said something along the lines of, "Electrons don't like to be forced next to one another, do they?"

CGS
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  • It's a nice answer but it doesn't explain why, e.g., sugar dissolves into water (in almost any proportion) – Gert Jul 13 '20 at 14:41
  • Hi Gert. The original question concerned two solid objects, not a solid within a liquid. I've never studied the physics of solutions, but certainly having a polar liquid molecule seems critical to the phenomenon. – CGS Jul 13 '20 at 15:28
  • Yeah, I can read too. The point is that electron cloud repulsion doesn't explain these other cases. And polarity doesn't explain why non-polar substances are very often very soluble in each other. – Gert Jul 13 '20 at 15:30