Can Matter Pass Through Matter?
Most recent answer: 01/15/2016
- Kshitij Agarwal (age 17)
India
Usually, matter can easily pass through other matter. Think of neutrinos, one of the most common types of matter in our universe. Enormous number of them are passing through you at this moment. We think that most of the matter mass of the universe is some sort of dark matter that also passes easily through our type of matter. Even very familiar types of matter (electrons, positrons, protons, neutrons, helium nuclei) pass through familiar matter to some degree, which is why transmission electron microscopes, neutron scattering experiments, proton radiation therapy, etc. work.
At a small scale level, any region of space can simultaneously have fields for different types of elementary particles. Those particles are thus occupying the same space. If they interact, then there's a chance the situation will change. How rapidly that happens depends on the strength of the interaction. Those neutrinos, for example, interact very weakly with us.
Mike W.
posted without vetting while Lee is gone
(published on 01/15/2016)