(ORDO NEWS) — “Rotation” is the fundamental quality of elementary particles such as the electron, causing the image of a tiny sphere spinning rapidly on its axis, like a planet in a shriveled solar system.
Only it’s not. It’s impossible. First, electrons are not spheres of matter, but points described by the mathematics of probability.
But Caltech philosopher of physics Charles T. Sebens argues that such a particle-based approach to one of the most accurate theories in physics can mislead us.
He says that by defining the basis of matter in terms of fields, some of the peculiarities and paradoxes that arise from a particle-oriented point of view disappear.
“Philosophers are usually attracted to problems that have not been solved for a very long time,” says Sebens.
“In quantum mechanics, we have ways to predict the results of experiments that work very well. good for electrons and to explain the spin, but important underlying questions remain unanswered: why do these methods work and what happens inside the atom?”
For most of a century, physicists have struggled with the results of experiments that suggest that the tiniest bits of reality don’t look or behave like objects in our daily lives.
Rotation is one of these qualities. Like a spinning cue ball colliding with the inner wall of a pool table, it carries angular momentum and influences the direction of the moving particle.
However, unlike the cue ball, the particle’s rotation can never speed up or slow down – rather, it is always limited to a given value.
To make it even harder to imagine the basic nature of matter, consider the fact that the size of an electron is so small that it actually lacks volume.
If it were large enough to have volume, the negative charge propagating through all of that space would push on itself, tearing the electron apart.
It is noteworthy that even if we were to show mercy and give the electron as a particle the largest radius experiments would allow, its rotation would exceed the speed of light – something that may or may not be the deciding factor on this scale, but for many physicists it is enough. to drop the talk about spinning electrons.
One way to simplify the tapestry of fundamental physics is to describe the points of matter as actions embedded in the fabric of the field, and then interpret these actions as particles.
Quantum field theory (QFT) does this successfully by combining aspects of Einstein’s special theory of relativity, classical field theory, and the postulates of quantum physics about particles.
It’s not a debatable theory, but there’s still debate about whether these fields are fundamental existing even if the bursts that pulsate through them were meant to be silenced or, if particles are the primary actors that represent vital information, and margins are just a convenience script.
This may seem like a trivial difference to us. But for philosophers like Sebens, the implications are worth exploring.
As he explained in a 2019 article published in the journal Aeon, “Sometimes advances in physics require support first, in order to revisit, reinterpret, and revise the theories we already have.”
This revision of quantum field theory highlights several significant advantages of prioritizing fields in physics over a particle-based approach, including a model that rethinks electrons in a way that can help us better understand their behavior.
“In an atom, an electron is often depicted as a cloud showing where it can be found, but I think the electron is actually physically propagating through this cloud,” says Sebens.
Being physically distributed over the field, and not limited to a point, the electron can actually rotate in ways that are not so much a mathematical construct as a physical description.
Although it still wouldn’t be like On a tiny planet in the solar system, this spinning electron would at least move at a speed that doesn’t defy any laws.
How this diffuse spread of negatively charged matter resists being torn apart is Sebens’ question. I have no answer.
But by focusing on aspects of the scattered electron’s field, he feels that any solutions would make more sense than the problems that arise from particles of infinite limitation.
There is a quote that has become folklore in the halls of quantum theorists – “Shut up and count.”
This saying has become synonymous with the fantastical landscape of the quantum realm, where images and metaphors cannot compete with the uncanny precision of pure mathematics.
However, from time to time it is important to pause our calculations and challenge a few old assumptions and perhaps even return to a new look at the basics of physics.
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