The debate on whether we Touch anything solid .

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river

When looking up the definition of " delta" I came across a chemical definition ;

" adjective ; forth in position in the structure of an organic molecule from a particular group or atom " .

The I came across this site ,

↑https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/iupac/hetero/De.html

Which when you go to it mentions the word " contiguous " . When you look up the meaning of the word contiguous , it means , " being in actual contact " .
 
Implying that in actual fact we do Actually Touch things . There is not or no " space " between your finger and whatever you touch . Whatever you touch you are actually touching .
 
river said:
Contiguous , discribes what is really going on between molecules and atoms . Both physically touch each other .
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No. As I said, if somebody happened to use the word contiguous, that does NOT mean that molecules physically touch each other.
 
It all depends on the definition of touching at the atomic level. Atoms do not have solid surfaces, so they do not touch physically but influence each other through the four fundamental forces.

Do atoms ever actually touch each other?
Category: Physics Published: April 16, 2013

atoms.jpg

Artistic rendering of two hydrogen atoms moving close to each other. At what point do they "touch"? It depends on what you mean by touch. Public Domain Image, source: Christopher S. Baird.
The answer depends on what you mean by "touch". There are three possible meanings of touch at the atomic level: 1) two objects influence each other, 2) two objects influence each other significantly, or 3) two objects reside in the exact same location.
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Note that the everyday concept of touch (i.e the hard boundaries of two objects exist at the same location) makes no sense at the atomic level because atoms don't have hard boundaries. Atoms are not really solid spheres. They are fuzzy quantum probability clouds filled with electrons spread out into waving cloud-like shapes called "orbitals". Like a cloud in the sky, an atom can have a shape and a location without having a hard boundary.
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...... more

https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2013/04/16/do-atoms-ever-actually-touch-each-other/
 
Could we say two atoms "touch" if they share the same electron?

Can that electron be considered as being in two places at the same time as it "belongs" to either of the two atoms equally?

(I am extremely sketchy on chemistry)
 
geordief said:
Could we say two atoms "touch" if they share the same electron?

Can that electron be considered as being in two places at the same time as it "belongs" to either of the two atoms equally?

(I am extremely sketchy on chemistry)
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Look up contiguous .
 
river said:
Look up contiguous .
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Dictionary definitions cut no mustard. Observations do .

That applies to my questions as well as your answer.

As Humpty Dumpty said: "
When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – – that’s all.”

Lewis Caroll was a mathematician but that is beside the point
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll#Mathematical_work
 
geordief said:
Dictionary definitions cut no mustard. Observations do .

That applies to my questions as well as your answer.

As Humpty Dumpty said: "
When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – – that’s all.”

Lewis Caroll was a mathematician but that is beside the point
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll#Mathematical_work
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Did you look up contiguous , definition , in chemistry ?
 
Dywyddyr said:
No it doesn't. That link goes to a different topic here on Sci. (And the word "contiguous" isn't used on that page at all.


Please provide a source that shows there is a specific meaning of "contiguous" in chemistry.
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https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/iupac/hetero/De.html the site again .


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Not easy to find but it does exist . Why its not easy I don't know . But in chemistry , contiguous definiately has its own meaning . Keep searching you'll find it.
 
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river said:
You haven't searched enough .

Or simply google , chemistry , contiguous , definition .
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And, once again, you don't post a link to support you false contention.
I have Googled it: so far as I can see there is no specific-to-chemistry definition of "contiguous" and your continuing failure to provide a link that does support your claim we can only conclude that A) you don't have one and B) you are lying.
 
river said:
But in chemistry , contiguous definiately has its own meaning .
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It does NOT mean " touching".

Here's my kindergarten explanation of quantum mechanics. (The smart people can correct me if I'm wrong.)

The "shape" and "size" of an atom is all about probability. E.g. there is an 80% probability that an electron will be within x distance of the nucleus. The remaining 20% probability is that it's somewhere else - in China or on the dark side of the moon.

The bottom line is that atoms can not touch because they have no surface.
 
river:

Please post the specific meaning that the word "contiguous" has in chemistry, with an appropriate link to the specific definition.

If you cannot do this, please retract your claim and apologise to your readers.

Thanks.
 
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