Regarding the "smearing" concept, how does that square with the formation of neutron stars and white dwarfs? Those objects are incredibly dense because they're composed mostly (?) of nuceei or neutrons, respectively.
The plots I linked to are for a single atom. If you have many other atoms around it, the smearing becomes different. For instance, in metals some of the electrons are completely smeared over the whole macroscopic piece of metal (this is a bit handwavy, but not incorrect phrasing). Chemical bonds also happen due to deforming and sharing of those "smeared" clouds between neighboring atoms.
If you have too much external pressure (gravity), those smeared electron clouds come too close to the nucleus, react with it, and the only thing left is neutrons.
krastanov|7 years ago
If you have too much external pressure (gravity), those smeared electron clouds come too close to the nucleus, react with it, and the only thing left is neutrons.