Do we interact with real particles?

[IsiacTorres]

It was brought to my attention that electromagnetic waves do not act as particles. If so, (and the same applies to atoms/quarks etc) the smaller and smaller the level of measurement you look, you will keep finding space bordered by mass. If that is true, what if the particles/waves we see aren't actually physical items, but waves or ripples in the environment.This would apply to the idea that light can travel through a vacuum; maybe it's not actually traveling through nothingness, but is a reaction of another dimension that is unnoticeable by the equipment we have so far.

[ajb]

In quantum field theory you think of everything in terms of fields. Classically you have ripples of waves in these fields, for example electromagnetic waves. The particle nature is seen when you apply 'quantum' to these fields. All particles can be viewed as localised small ripples in these fields, we have 'lumps'.

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

Surely,

That is why, when you are in the sea, at a shore ,where waves are quite large , and you are standing up to your waste, and a wave hits you smack in the chest ,you feel you have been hit by a truck (particle) . Really you have been hit by a wave.

 

Mike

[ajb]

It is more subtle than that Mike, but it is a nice picture.

[IsiacTorres]

What are those fields supposed to be made up of, or what are they waves in?

[ajb]

What are those fields supposed to be made up of, or what are they waves in?

This is bordering on philosophy and we don't really pose that question in physics. We model nature and our model suggests that the Universe is full of fields. For the electron we have the electron field, photon we have the electromagnetic fields and so on. Particles are the lumpy nature of these fields.