No Shells

What is matter?  

Well, it's not really what we see around us.

It's atoms! Definitely atoms.

Well, what are atoms?

Atoms are electrons and protons and neutrons!  Electrons don't really have much mass though, almost none at all in fact... so mostly protons and neutrons?

That's right.  In fact, atoms are almost entirely empty space!  Electrons are 'somewhere' flying around the nucleus repelling the electrons of other atoms.  And the nucleus is so small compared to the area defined by the electrons.  If the nucleus were the size of a basketball, the electrons would be occupying a space the size of the earth.  THE EARTH!  A basketball as the nucleus, empty space the radius of the earth then one electron 'going around.'  E.M.P.T.Y. S.P.A.C.E. is what we're made of.  And the nucleuses don't even ever touch!  As I type these letters, the electrons of the atoms of my finger repel the electrons of the atoms of the keys and they come very close to touching but the negative charges repel each other!  Our nucleuses are still relatively separated by a distance of the earth!

Okay, that's pretty cool, and disturbing how solid everything is despite that fact...  but what are protons and neutrons made of?

Quarks of course!  I learned about those in high school.

Sure, and what are quarks made of?

Well... probably smaller particles?

The thing is, that we imagine atoms, and protons as having these shells around them.  These 'boundaries.'  But in reality, there are no shells!  Everything is just made of forces!

What!?

Yeah.  No shells.  Even quarks don't have shells, so to speak.  they are made of infinitesimally small forces that have... wait for it... event horizons!  The edge of the forces, sort of.

Woah.  I've heard of event horizons before.  Not only is it a super rad horor sci-fi movie about a ship orbiting neptune, but that's what we call the surface of a black hole.

That's right.  But like neutrons, black holes don't have a 'surface' or shell, the event horizon is the distance where, if crossed, light either can or can not escape the force at the center of a black hole.

So neutrons and black holes are... the same?  Similar?

In the sense that both are though of as having edges or shells, when really there is nothing but forces defining the 'shape.'  And black holes are made actually by stars compressing so much that the electron 'barrier' or event horizon between atoms is broken through, the proton force event horizon is broken through (the quark event horizons are broken through, the [whatever makes up quarks] event horizons are broken through etc.) and atoms sort of melt into one point.

So, what are black holes then?  Where does their force come from?

Well, we don't REALLY know other than that they are a combination of all the forces of the atoms that have been forced to combine.  Which really makes the event horizon of a black hole VERY similar to the event horizons that define the forces of every single atom.  Every atom could then be though of a tiny black holes.  These tiny black holes just are not black because their forces are not strong enough to hold light in.

Cool.  So I'm made of black holes?

Yeah, pretty much.