--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At this scale what you actually sense is…" description: "\"“At this scale what you actually sense is a space of possibilities, of ethereal electrostatic pushes and pulls. The closest comparison we can make to t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/caleb-scharf-17792_molecules_at-this-scale-what-you-actually-sense-is_2316143.jpg" --- # At this scale what you actually sense is a space of… ![“At this scale what you actually sense is a space of possibilities, of ethereal electrostatic pushes and pulls. The closest comparison we can make to this experience is a blindfolded tasting of unknown foods and flavors. There is a menu of such sensations here, unique flourishes lined up end to…” quote by Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/caleb-scharf-17792_molecules_at-this-scale-what-you-actually-sense-is_2316143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/caleb-scharf-17792_molecules_at-this-scale-what-you-actually-sense-is_2316143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/caleb-scharf-17792_molecules_at-this-scale-what-you-actually-sense-is_2316143.jpg) > ““At this scale what you actually sense is a space of possibilities, of ethereal electrostatic pushes and pulls. The closest comparison we can make to this experience is a blindfolded tasting of unknown foods and flavors. There is a menu of such sensations here, unique flourishes lined up end to end. Here's an entity we call a carbon atom. Here are ones called oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen. They're clumped together as other recognizable things, relatively simple molecules called nucleotides: adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine, arrayed along a pair of sugar-phosphate rails that curve off into the distance in either direction. But what any of these look like is no longer entirely meaningful. What is meaningful is the "state" of these entities, their electromagnetic energies, their vibrations and rotations, their still-intangible patterns of presence. Walking among them you are buffeted by a multitude of calls and entreaties in the form of attractions and repulsions, yet this seemingly disordered cacophony is shot through with regularity and information.”” [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. At the atomic level, reality is a dynamic field of energies and patterns, not fixed objects. **In simple terms:** Atoms are energy patterns, not solid things. Key Takeaway Focus on underlying patterns, not appearances. Themes science perception quantum complexity Mood curious analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - teaching physics concepts - designing nanotech - meditating on impermanence Key Concepts Energy fields information theory emergent properties Questions to Reflect On - What patterns do you notice in daily life? - How can you shift focus from objects to energies? A Different Perspective Complexity can be overwhelming without simplification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Nucleotides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-nucleotides-5519669/) [Carbon Atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-atom-2367609/) [Ethereal Electrostatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethereal-electrostatic-5519670/) [Molecules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/molecules/) [Molecules Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/molecules-called-3768663/) ## Related quotes > [“I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical molecules with a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-am-a-collection-of-water-calcium-and-organic-molecules-called-carl-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The electrons in a carbon atom in the human brain are connected to the subatomic particles that comprise every salmon that swims, every heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-talbot/the-electrons-in-a-carbon-atom-in-the-human-brain-are-connected-to/) [Michael Talbot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-talbot/) > [A hydrogen atom in a cell at the end of my nose was once part of an elephant's trunk. A carbon atom in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/a-hydrogen-atom-in-a-cell-at-the-end-of-my-nose-was-once-part-of-an/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Every carbon atom in every living thing on the planet was produced in the heart of a dying star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/every-carbon-atom-in-every-living-thing-on-the-planet-was-produced-in/) [Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/) > [Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional properties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/life-exists-in-the-universe-only-because-the-carbon-atom-possesses/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [I try to identify myself with the atoms ... I ask what I would do If I were a carbon atom or a sodium atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/i-try-to-identify-myself-with-the-atoms-i-ask-what-i-would-do-if-i/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [Some super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom through the blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/some-super-calculating-intellect-must-have-designed-the-properties-of/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) [Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/) > [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [When a liquid boils, the temperature has been raised to such a pitch that the evaporating molecules are sufficient in number and speed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/when-a-liquid-boils-the-temperature-has-been-raised-to-such-a-pitch/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) ## More by Caleb Scharf > [“If you were a hapless cosmic hitchhiker stranded between the stars of the Milky Way, your body would represent a concentration of matter a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/if-you-were-a-hapless-cosmic-hitchhiker-stranded-between-the-stars-of/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“In powers of ten, humans exist almost halfway between the inconceivably big and the unimaginably tiny, and the final plunge from 10^-19 meters to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/in-powers-of-ten-humans-exist-almost-halfway-between-the/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“The most distant quasars exist in a very young universe, barely a billion years old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/the-most-distant-quasars-exist-in-a-very-young-universe-barely-a/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“We've been around for the tiniest sliver of cosmic time, yet our science can already take us across sixty orders of magnitude in scale.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/we-ve-been-around-for-the-tiniest-sliver-of-cosmic-time-yet-our/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“There are underlying principles at play in nature, from the fields, quanta, and forces of the universe to the ebb and flow of complexity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/there-are-underlying-principles-at-play-in-nature-from-the-fields/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“We are accelerating and extending our minds through our computers and algorithms, through our medical prowess and our accumulated knowledge. These minds of ours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/we-are-accelerating-and-extending-our-minds-through-our-computers-and/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“Remarkably,on the journey from 10^27 meters to 10^23 meters, in just five factors of ten we transition down from the size of the observable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/remarkably-on-the-journey-from-10-27-meters-to-10-23-meters-in-just/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“The gloriously bright daytime side of the Earth is therefore not just a pretty sight. It signals a relentless absorption of electromagnetic radiation. Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/the-gloriously-bright-daytime-side-of-the-earth-is-therefore-not-just/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“The length of all DNA in your body's cells is 74 billion kilometers (or 193,000 times the distance from the earth to the moon).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/the-length-of-all-dna-in-your-body-s-cells-is-74-billion-kilometers/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“Our biological awareness seldom strays below a few millimeters or above a few kilometers. That is 6 orders of magnitude out of some 62.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/our-biological-awareness-seldom-strays-below-a-few-millimeters-or/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“With enough infalling matter, a spinning black hole can convert mass to energy with higher efficiency than even nuclear fusion. The most luminous cases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/with-enough-infalling-matter-a-spinning-black-hole-can-convert-mass/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“Our cosmic circumstances influence the way we see reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/our-cosmic-circumstances-influence-the-way-we-see-reality/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“Some estimates, based on analyses of the known geometry of space-time, suggest that the "full" universe could extend at least 250 cosmic horizons farther.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/some-estimates-based-on-analyses-of-the-known-geometry-of-space-time/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“1 Hundred Quadrillion Seconds (10 ^ 17) for light to travel from cosmic horizon to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/1-hundred-quadrillion-seconds-10-17-for-light-to-travel-from-cosmic/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“Bose-Einstein Condensate - Cool objects such as helium atoms to nearly absolute zero and they can clump into a single quantum entity. Individual atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/bose-einstein-condensate-cool-objects-such-as-helium-atoms-to-nearly/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) [Explore all 36 Caleb Scharf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) ## More Molecules quotes > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [When a liquid boils, the temperature has been raised to such a pitch that the evaporating molecules are sufficient in number and speed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/when-a-liquid-boils-the-temperature-has-been-raised-to-such-a-pitch/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) [Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/) > [Everything we think we know is really only perceived by our senses,' he explains patiently. 'The sounds we hear are just waves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/everything-we-think-we-know-is-really-only-perceived-by-our-senses-he/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [“Those are some of the things that molecules do, given four billion years of evolution”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/those-are-some-of-the-things-that-molecules-do-given-four-billion/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [From a certain temperature on, the molecules 'condense' without attractive forces; that is, they accumulate at zero velocity. The theory is pretty, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/from-a-certain-temperature-on-the-molecules-condense-without/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Yes, Jenna, I love you with all my heart. And with my atoms and molecules and electrons and whatever further breakdown you require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/yes-jenna-i-love-you-with-all-my-heart-and-with-my-atoms-and/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [Consider that in this very moment, your body is changing as it reshuffles and exchanges its atoms and molecules with the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/consider-that-in-this-very-moment-your-body-is-changing-as-it/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [We shall use the terms morality, behavior, conduct, or constructive action in the same broad way. It may sound strange to speak of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-patten/we-shall-use-the-terms-morality-behavior-conduct-or-constructive/) [William Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-patten/) [Browse all 321 Molecules quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/molecules/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At this scale what you actually sense is a space of possibilities, of ethereal electrostatic pushes and pulls. The closest comparison we can make to this experience is a blindfolded tasting of unknown foods and flavors. There is a menu of such sensations here, unique flourishes lined up end to end. Here's an entity we call a carbon atom. Here are ones called oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen. They're clumped together as other recognizable things, relatively simple molecules called nucleotides: adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine, arrayed along a pair of sugar-phosphate rails that curve off into the distance in either direction. But what any of these look like is no longer entirely meaningful. What is meaningful is the \"state\" of these entities, their electromagnetic energies, their vibrations and rotations, their still-intangible patterns of presence. 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