What is the difference between the vacuum and the void?
As a term used to express the emptiness of a region the vacuum and the void are interchangeable. More specifically, a vacuum (especially an ideal vacuum) refers to the absence of any gaseous atoms or molecules in a region of space. The meaning of void goes further. The void refers to the absence of everything conceivable; it represents complete nothingness. No air, no aether, no entities of any sort. No need to concern ourselves, though; this kind of void does not exist. Descartes had it right when he wrote that it is contrary to reason to say that there is a space in which there is absolutely nothing. As for the vacuum, he argued that it does not exclude all entities. [Ed. Margaret D. Wilson, The Essential Descartes, 1969 Mentor p342] Consider also the nuance of meaning when it comes to specialized jargon: In the field of astronomy the void refers to the relatively empty region of the interior of the cosmic cells of the Universe. In astrophysics and philosophy the void refers to compl
