Reference: The Book of Universe
Since the time of Newton, energy has been viewed as a property of matter, described as kinetic or potential energy. The meaning of energy has now shifted to being a substance at par with matter. These two very different definitions of energy have come from the same subject of physics. Not everybody has become accustomed to thinking of energy as a substance.
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Definition of ENERGY
The spectrum of the electromagnetic energy lies in the middle part of the Vortex model. Therefore, light, as energy, lies very far from the axis of the Vortex. This makes the radius of the path of light very large. Therefore, light appears to travel in a straight line.
The consistency of light is so low that it cannot be detected as mass. Therefore, light is considered to have no mass; but it is seen as having very fast motion. Since motion has always been the characteristic of energy, light is considered to be energy.
There is motion in matter; but, there can be motion in much lighter substance too. That substance is called electromagnetic energy and light falls in that category. Electromagnetic energy is very different from the kinetic energy in matter. But using the same word “energy” for two very different concepts has created a lot of confusion in the field of physics.
When Einstein showed that matter could be a condensed form of energy, it sent a shock through the scientific community. For a long time light has been visualized as a wavelike disturbance in a material medium (ether). To think of it as a substance now is difficult. It is made more difficult because the mathematics that applies to ripples in water, also applies to the motion of light.
But the concepts like wavelength and frequency that we visualize easily for a ripple in water, could mean something very different for electromagnetic energy. Quantum mechanics already conceives energy as a diffused field. The ideas of wave-length and frequency may express the extents and consistency of this field, respectively.
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Notes
Using Einstein’s definition of energy, we may say that there are two very different categories of substance—energy and matter. This makes light a substance that is extremely thin in consistency, and which radiates naturally at a very high speed.
These two categories of substance are very far apart in their consistencies. In fact, the ratio of the “consistency of matter” to the “consistency of light” could be directly related to the speed of light.
Energy is not made of particles like atoms as it is not condensed enough. However, energy may be described in terms of quantum, which is the discrete amount of energy absorbed or radiated by an atom. Therefore, a quantum is a discrete chunk of energy, and not a particle. The quantum and consistency of energy are directly related.
Quantum mechanics is applied mainly to the substance within the atom. It treats it as a field, which is a concept that can also be applied to energy and thought. The concept of field is derived from Faraday’s “lines of force.”
The hesitation in accepting the word ‘substance’ for both light and matter still exists in the scientific community. Instead, the concept of field is more acceptable. But the word ‘substance’ has connotations that the word ‘field’ does not have.
The mathematics that has been applied to waves in a material medium, is also applied to the motion associated with light. But this does not necessarily mean that light should be visualized as waves in some medium. Light has a cyclic motion that need not be visualized as waves.
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Key Misconception
There is considerable confusion with the word “energy” used as a property of matter (Newtonian energy), and also for the quantum in the sense of substance (Einsteinian energy).
Furthermore, it is a misconception to think of quantum as a particle, just because it is discrete. A quantum does not have a center of mass, that a particle has.
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More Misconceptions
You may discover more misconceptions on your own, if you contemplate on each sentence of the above definition with mindfulness. Please see:
Or, you may end up improving upon this definition.
Good luck!
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