Last updated April 12, 2026 — edited for clarity.
This essay explores the reasons behind the Universe's vast emptiness, from subatomic particles to the stars.
There is a vast space between planets, solar systems, and galaxies. However, when we look inward, deep within atoms and molecules, we find enormous space there as well.
Despite our fascination with outer space, scientists have discovered an intriguing world deep within the inner space of atoms.
An atom’s nucleus, made of protons and neutrons, is tiny compared to the rest of the atom. The nucleus is about 100,000 times smaller than the entire atom.
The orbiting electrons revolve around the nucleus so far away that a tremendous space exists within each atom.
That explains why most matter in the Universe is empty. Now that we understand that, let’s examine this scenario even deeper.
We know that our tides are a result of the gravitational pull of the Moon.
We know that Solar Flares can affect our radio communications and electronics.1
We know that the Earth does not take exactly 365 1/4 days to revolve around the Sun. Besides adding a day every four years with a leap year, we have to skip a leap year every hundred years. We also need to adjust the calendar with leap seconds added every so often.2
We know that the Universe is expanding. We have the technology to record the distances and movements of other bodies in space. Based on these measurements, we can tell that everything is moving apart, moving away from one central point that could indicate the origin of the Big Bang.3
There might be no end to the limits of our Universe. As we continue to reach out into space, the distance and the speed of light impose restrictions we cannot overcome.
We can launch robotic missions that send back information about their discoveries. However, the farther out we reach, the longer it takes for the signals to return to Earth.
Eventually, it becomes impossible to receive returned data, limiting our ability to gain further knowledge of outer space.
Ever since the Big Bang, we have imagined the Universe as a bubble with a radius of 13.6 billion light-years. However, we don’t know if there are any limits at all. The Universe could be infinite, both outward and inward.
If we can go endlessly outward, there might also be no limitation to how far we can go inward. Interestingly, that inner world might be affecting our outer world just as much as all the known objects in outer space.
Inner space is just as massive and limitless, and we are only beginning to discover it.
Today, we can go deeper and deeper into inner space with new technology already in existence. For example, we have instruments that can visualize individual atoms, but we can go even deeper than that!
We know that there is some form of energy field that spreads throughout the entire Universe. Dr. Peter Higgs proposed this idea in 1964.
With a breakthrough discovery on July 4th, 2012, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, physicists believe they have discovered a subatomic particle that they named after Dr. Higgs, known as the Higgs Boson.
The Higgs Boson particles might explain why objects have mass. The more mass objects have, the more gravitational pull they have on one another.
The Universe is indeed expanding from a single point, which cosmologists believe began with the Big Bang. That expansion is causing everything to move farther apart, leaving ever-growing gaps between every object in the cosmos. That expansion can go on to infinity.
The Universe may have no end in sight. That is hard for the human mind to conceive. We tend to place endpoints on anything physical since the notion of infinity is somewhat incomprehensible.
It’s because atoms are attached to other atoms by a force that bonds them together. There are two types of these forces:
If we could travel to the ends of the Universe, we might discover an endless journey. But as we look deep within the subatomic particles of an atom, that journey inward might be limitless, too.
Subatomic particles include the neutrons and protons that make up the nucleus of the atom and the electrons that spiral around the nucleus in an orbital cloud.
The nucleus of an atom is about 100,000 times smaller than the entire atom. If you were to enlarge a single atom to 500 square feet, the size of the nucleus would still be equivalent to a speck of dust.
That’s not as small as it gets. Scientists have already found extremely small subatomic particles deeper within the nucleus. They are known as Quarks and Leptons.4
Despite the numerous Quarks and Leptons within the nucleus of atoms, the space between the nucleus and the outer electrons is enormous, leaving an entire space of emptiness.
As we go deeper into the emptiness within atoms, it may eventually reveal the secrets of the Universe and provide a better understanding of the laws of physics.
Outer space is not the final frontier. Instead, we are only now discovering an endless world within the emptiness of everything in our Universe. I find that fascinating!
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