Just Air!

[xrayspecs]

If the world around us is made up of atoms and these atoms have a mass (albeit very small) And air is made up of atoms - how come we can see through it?

[gary baldy]

Cos they are really really teeny tiny.

[xrayspecs]

But there are lots of them! I don't understand why I don't have to keep moving them out of the way while I'm watching TV??

[xrayspecs]

Gary, I'm glad I'm not the only one with nothing to do on a friday night!! Cheers mate ( said lifting a pint of warm lager!)

[brachiopod]

'cos most of an atom (even in a metallic solid) is empty space, innit.

In a gas, dose atoms are well spaced out, whereas dem liquids an' solids are well opaque, man. Dat's why when we have mist an' fog (suspendended droplets of {densely packed} molecules of water), or smog (same, but wiv' smoke {'soot' , 'particulates' an' carbon etc} mixed in an' suspended wiv it), we can't see nuffink.

Since 'air' is molecules of 'gas', they is very far apart compared wiv a solid or liquid, it's not that you can see between the molecules an' atoms and stuff, cos they're moving very fast, but more that there's less of them to see through.

[qapmoc]

Well if your using ''xrayspecs'' I suppose they can see through everything anyway.

Seriously though, don't forget that the light photons which strike the back of your eyeballs can move through the spaces between the atoms in the intervening air. So although the air around you is like a soup of atoms etc the picture can still get to you.
And no, I don't know what flavour the soup is!

[Hippy]

When the little molecules get closer together and we have a liquid, such as water, we can see the water, but also see through it. However the more densley packed molecules distort the light waves and we see ripples and refraction. We can also see reflection from the surface so not all of the light is getting through any more.

On a hot still day in the summer look into the distance and you often see a heat haze caused by different densities of air convecting around. If the air is cooler than the ground you will see just the same rippling refraction effect as you see in water. Look at the exhaust from a jet engine (from a safe distance!). It is hot and therefore less dense and again you can see the effect of the air molecules on the light travelling through it.

At night look at the stars. They twinkle. This is because of the light being interfered with by the moving molecules of air around us.

[xrayspecs]

Thank you all for that, sadly I'm no wiser!

Brachiopod - are you alright?? why are you trying to sound like Ali G? (unless you are ofcourse, in which case you have my unmitigated sympathy... sorry I ment apologies!)

[brachiopod]

I have absolutely no idea, xrayspecs, I was a little drunk last night. I am know just seeing my drunken replies and blushing a rather deep red.

sorry :o(