Simply stated, it is as unbelievably small as it is big.

A. All material in the universe consists of atoms. Atoms in turn are made up of three “building blocks”: protons and neutrons (which make up the nucleus of an atom), and electrons (which orbit the nucleus).

B. It would take 25 trillion protons laid side by side to span a linear inch.

C. There are as many protons in a cubic inch of copper as there are drops of water in the oceans of the world, or grains of sand on the seashores of our earth.

D. The size of an electron is to a dust speck as the dust speck is to the entire earth.

E. The space between an electron and the nucleus is 10,000 times the width of that nucleus. For example, if the outer shell of electrons in an atom were the size of the Houston Astrodome, the nucleus would be the size of a Ping-Pong ball in the center of that stadium.

Question: If most of the atom is empty space, why does a table top offer so much resistance when you push at it with your finger?

Answer: The surface of the table (like the tip of one’s finger) consists of a wall of electrons, belonging to the outermost layer of atoms in both objects. The combined speed and force attraction of these electrons prevent your finger from going through the table just as a rapidly rotating bicycle wheel would prevent you from placing your finger through the spokes.