We find the concept of VOID flanked by the concepts of EMPTINESS and SPACE.
Generally, we look at SPACE as “absence of matter”. For example, we look around the room and see space among material objects.
We look at VOID as “absence of physical phenomena”. For example, when we look at the heaven we think of void among the earth, sun, moon and stars.
We look at EMPTINESS as “absence of all phenomena, whether physical, spiritual or mental”. In emptiness, even the void and space are absent. This occurs in deep sleep when we are aware of closing and opening our eyes, but of nothing in between.
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Emptiness
EMPTINESS is a philosophical concept rather than a scientific one. Eastern philosophy looks upon it as absence of birth, death, being, non-being, increasing, decreasing, purity and defilement.
From a scientific viewpoint, emptiness is like the zero on a scale of phenomena. Itself, it is not a phenomenon, just like zero is not a value. Thus, emptiness is the ultimate reference point from which all physical and metaphysical phenomena is perceived objectively.
The concept of emptiness is just that. It is totally fresh. It is completely clean. There are no preconceived notions, no fixed ideas, and no bias. It is simply what it is. It has the property of being inherently understood because it denotes the absence of all phenomena.
Emptiness is the ultimate reference point from which it is possible to give an objective meaning to any phenomena without preconceived notions.
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Void
When astronomers look up at the heavens, they are basically concerned with physical phenomenon. Such phenomena extend to all physical aspects of the universe, such as, matter, energy, space and time. Astronomers regard those regions of heaven as void where they cannot detect any physical phenomenon.
Void is a concept used in physics as a background from which to contrast the physical phenomenon. Void is similar to emptiness, except it is narrower in scope.
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Space
Space is conceived as absence of matter, where matter is thought of as made of solid atoms. Space, as vacuum, may be free of matter, but it is not free of light and other radiation,
The atom is said to have over 99.99% space with a speck of solid nucleus in the center. Therefore, space is not differentiated from the electronic, electromagnetic and force fields that surround the nucleus.
Space is generally thought of as absence of atomic matter. It, however, does not exclude the physical phenomena of light and other radiation.
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Classical and Quantum Physics
These concepts of Emptiness, Void and Space exist in classical physics only, They do not exist in quantum physics.
In Quantum physics, space becomes a complex mathematical object and void and emptiness lose their meanings.
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