Atoms in steel may be as empty as the night sky, but a steel knife can cut you. Even though it isn't real, it's extremely real to us. It's so rigid that it will hold its stretch for many years, vibrating at the prescribed pitch. Yet the atoms of that wire are clouds not touching each other, merely attracted by the valence gaps in their electron shells. Although electrons peacefully occupy every atom of your body, they're violent when detached.
Lightning bolts are cascades of electrons.
In most atoms, electrons are in pairs with opposite spin, neutralizing them. But in iron-type atoms, some electrons aren't paired, and the unbalanced spin makes each atom a magnet. When we look at some stars, we're seeing light that left them hundreds or thousands of years ago. Our eyes see the past. This seems impossible, but many tests have verified it.