"Matter is excitations in a field"

[Silvestru]

Hello,

 

I have read many posts where I find the above expression (Most notably from Mordred) but I only encounter it as part of explaining some other topic.

 

Could you please expand on this with more information? It is a really interesting subject for me.

 

[Strange]

All particles are quantised excitations in the relevant field(s). I read a really good article about this recently but I can't find it again (it was explaining the Higgs mechanism, I think.)

 

This one might do instead (but probably requires more work): https://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/fields-and-their-particles-with-math/

[StringJunky]

The first 50 mins of this excellent Sean Carroll lecture will give you a good overview of the scientific evolution of the first ideas of particles through to them being seen as fields and how they work, including an explanation of what the Higgs Boson is about that gives things mass. Beyond the 50 minutes he goes into where physics is going. You don't need much prior knowledge to understand what he's saying.

Edited May 10, 2017 by StringJunky

[Mordred]

Good lecture, definitely handy to keep a link to. I particularly liked how he broke down the descriptive of fields with local neighbor potential.

 

+1 this video covers a lot of the related replies I have been trying to teach here. I wish it was available when I first started studying physics. It took me years to put the pieces together to understand what he described in the first 50 minutes.

 

Some additional information to digest.

 

the portion of every particle field communicates mentioned in the video is forms of constructive/destructive interactions. The constructive interferences can give rise to new particles when the two waves combine to a quanta of energy in confinement.

 

The portion on the above interactions accurately describe spacetime. That being the sum of all field values at a given coordinate. As every particle has a corresponding field, whose interactions can generate additional vibrations both constructive and destructive.

 

To model all the dynamics at each point you use embedded geometries such as Hilbert space etc. The embedded geometries are your overlapping vibrations.

 

String theory is also a collection of embedded geometries. Notice Sean Carroll's reference to string vibrations. In particular his correlation to mass.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Mordred

[StringJunky]

Good lecture, definitely handy to keep a link to. I particularly liked how he broke down the descriptive of fields with local neighbor potential.

 

+1 this video covers a lot of the related replies I have been trying to teach here. I wish it was available when I first started studying physics. It took me years to put the pieces together to understand what he described in the first 50 minutes.

 

Some additional information to digest.

 

the portion of every particle field communicates mentioned in the video is forms of constructive/destructive interactions. The constructive interferences can give rise to new particles when the two waves combine to a quanta of energy in confinement.

 

The portion on the above interactions accurately describe spacetime. That being the sum of all field values at a given coordinate. As every particle has a corresponding field, whose interactions can generate additional vibrations both constructive and destructive.

 

To model all the dynamics at each point you use embedded geometries such as Hilbert space etc. The embedded geometries are your overlapping vibrations.

 

String theory is also a collection of embedded geometries. Notice Sean Carroll's reference to string vibrations. In particular his correlation to mass.

The idea of virtual particles being less than a quanta and not being actionable individually has been a key thing for me to learn that you've mentioned recently. Also, fields vibrating into other fields has been useful too that I learnt from the video. I think i shall be watching this a few times as Carroll seems to have painted a nicely coherent picture of the different levels and relationships between all the particles and fields. Seems like a good basic springboard to look deeper into parts of atomic theory which I've wanted to get into for a while. The field thing was always the sticking point for me. Swansont has mentioned Carroll quite a few times over the years and i've read a few things by him, so that video caught my eye and his name piqued me to watch it. I'm minded to get one of his books.

[koti]

Yet another email which I sent to myself (with the link to the lecture)

[Mordred]

The idea of virtual particles being less than a quanta and not being actionable individually has been a key thing for me to learn that you've mentioned recently. Also, fields vibrating into other fields has been useful too that I learnt from the video. I think i shall be watching this a few times as Carroll seems to have painted a nicely coherent picture of the different levels and relationships between all the particles and fields. Seems like a good basic springboard to look deeper into parts of atomic theory which I've wanted to get into for a while. The field thing was always the sticking point for me. Swansont has mentioned Carroll quite a few times over the years and i've read a few things by him, so that video caught my eye and his name piqued me to watch it. I'm minded to get one of his books.

You can also apply the field aspects to how Relativity works including

 

1) time dilation

2) length contraction.

3) redshift/blueshift and their frequency relations.

 

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad Carroll mentions mass from the standpoint of how it works with vibrations.

 

The video will be extremely handy to explain these advanced concepts and others to numerous threads currently ongoing. With literally no background knowledge required by the viewer.

 

I am considering pinning this thread for a time so our regular members can readily go.

 

"here watch this video " However I'd like to see what the OP thinks of it.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Mordred

[KipIngram]

So far I'm finding versions of that video that have picture but no sound, and versions that have sound but no pictures. Tests on other YouTube videos seem to show that things are working fine. I'll keep looking...

Ah - found one. Weird - don't know what was up with that.

[StringJunky]

You can also apply the field aspects to how Relativity works including

 

1) time dilation

2) length contraction.

3) redshift/blueshift and their frequency relations.

 

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad Carroll mentions mass from the standpoint of how it works with vibrations.

 

The video will be extremely handy to explain these advanced concepts and others to numerous threads currently ongoing. With literally no background knowledge required by the viewer.

 

I am considering pinning this thread for a time so our regular members can readily go.

 

"here watch this video " However I'd like to see what the OP thinks of it.

This video would be a good pointer in the philosophy section when people ask "What is real?"

[Silvestru]

You can also apply the field aspects to how Relativity works including

 

1) time dilation

2) length contraction.

3) redshift/blueshift and their frequency relations.

 

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad Carroll mentions mass from the standpoint of how it works with vibrations.

 

The video will be extremely handy to explain these advanced concepts and others to numerous threads currently ongoing. With literally no background knowledge required by the viewer.

 

I am considering pinning this thread for a time so our regular members can readily go.

 

"here watch this video " However I'd like to see what the OP thinks of it.

 

Of course Mordred. I am real glad I posted this as it really opened a new world for me.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Silvestru

[StringJunky]

 

Of course Mordred. I am real glad I posted this as it really opened a new world for me.

Cool. It's helped me as well. Sean Carroll is a talented guy for communicating for what seems - at first sight - a nebulous and quite obscure subject.

Edited May 10, 2017 by StringJunky

[KipIngram]

Cool. Nice lecture.

[Mordred]

Judging from the feedback I think this would be a good thread to pin.

[imatfaal]

!

Moderator Note

 

I have locked this thread because it has been pinned by one of our experts - the explanation by Matt Strassler is good but the video lecture by Sean Carroll seems to be rated as excellent. These notes will serve as a mini repository for future questions - and may be expanded. However, I do not want a pinned thread to be open for discussion - this would allow the potential addition of many less desirable pieces of mis-information from the slightly misconstrued to the full-blown deepak-chopra.

 

The discussion so far has been first rate and any of the discussants should feel free to re-open a new thread to continue. Any future resources that are of a similar quality can be appended by a member of staff.

 

thanks