Category Archives: Science

“Energy” in Quantum Mechanics

February 28, 2023 – 10:03 AM

Reference: Fundamentals of Physics

Energy is a classical concept that applies to Newtonian mechanics as “the capacity for doing work.” But this same word “energy” has gone through a fundamental shift in its meaning in Quantum Mechanics.

The word QUANTUM means, “quantity or amount”. It refers to the smallest quantity of radiant energy, equal to Planck’s constant times the frequency of the associated radiation (E = hf). “Quantity of radiant energy” means that radiant energy is a substance that can be collected and measured. This is a revolutionary thought. 

Quantum refers to “the smallest quantity of substance,” where substance means “something substantial enough to be sensed.” 

The basis of substance is impact, which comes from a change in momentum. This is the classical definition of force. Light has momentum. Light can have impact and force. Therefore, light is substance. It was for establishing the reality of quantum as quantity of substance, which he demonstrated through the phenomenon of photoelectricity, that Einstein got a Nobel Prize.

The classical sense of energy is derived from force as the product “force x distance.” Thus, energy is a mathematical concept, much like the “lagrangian” and “hamiltonian” functions. But force is a real concept that can be experienced. The concept of “energy” in Quantum Mechanics is closer to the sense of force and substance.

Quantum is closer to the basic sense of FORCE as in the “impact of substance” than to ENERGY as in the “capacity for doing work.”

It was Faraday who first articulated that the concept of force is more basic than energy in his thesis: On the Conservation of Force. Maxwell, who applied mathematics to Faraday’s ideas, disagreed with Faraday on his notion of force (see Faraday & Maxwell). But Einstein, who kept a picture of Faraday on his wall, did understand the notion of force as Faraday intended.

Thanks to Faraday and Einstein, that we can visualize a broad spectrum of substance today (see The Spectrum of Substance). The concept of substance translates into having an atom-less consistency and not just atomic mass. The concept of inertia is not just limited to mass, but it applies to consistency as well.

Mass is, essentially, “frozen inertia” as in the case of the nucleus of atom. It is more like “liquid inertia” as in the case of electrons; and it is “vaporized inertia” as in the case of radiant energy. The property of inertia is the core of substance as it generates sensation.

Underlying substance, mass, consistency and inertia is the concept of FORCE.

This force is proportional to frequency.

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Definition

ENERGY
Energy is a mathematical concept derived from force. It is a mathematical function, much like the “lagrangian” and “hamiltonian” functions. 

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By vinaire | Comments (0)

Physics and Mathematics

February 25, 2023 – 9:21 AM

Reference: A Conceptual Model of Inertia, Mass & Location 

The inconsistency I am faced with is “a continuous space being defined as a set of discrete points.” Mathematics fails to define the relationship between point and space properly. It seems that there is a better explanation underlying this inconsistency.

Science has progressed to a point where it is looking at the process of observation itself. It is difficult to come up with some absolute reference point, from which to look at the rest of existence. God seems to be a placeholder for what we do not understand. The only possible avenue to take is to take one inconsistency at a time and resolve it as best as one can, keeping in mind that one may have to come back to it later to resolve it further.

The universe is obviously finite in terms of what one is actually able to observe. We may postulate the universe to be infinite but that does not add anything more to our actual awareness or understanding. The idea of location is limited to the mechanical universe that we actually observe, independent of what one might postulate mathematically or otherwise.

We are now confronted with the idea of motion that goes beyond the classical concept of a physical body moving in space and time. A physical body consists of motion within itself at atomic levels. We cannot say if there is a point within the atom that is absolutely still. The stillness may be computed only in relative terms as difficulty involved in shifting a point. This is where the concept of inertia springs from. Thus, the idea of a location in space is intimately tied with the idea of inertia. This is what I meant by the concept of “centeredness” of CoM. I do not know if there is any limit to ideal centeredness. That is subject to observation.

An electromagnetic wave does not have its momentum concentrated at a point; rather it is evenly spread throughout. So, it has a physical presence that cannot be described as located at a point, as it can be done with mass. A photon may be described as having a physical presence as a wave packet, the size of which depends on its frequency. The higher is the frequency, the smaller is the region that describes its presence. One may say the location of a photon is spread-out in space, as opposed to being concentrated at a point as in case of mass. There is continuity that seems to exist within that “spread-out location”.

As frequency of the photon decreases, its location seems to “spread-out” further as proportional to its wavelength. This is looking at location in terms of inertia. The inertia lessens as frequency decreases. This spread may assume infinite proportions as frequency approaches zero. Here we achieve an approximation of space as a primitive concept that does not depend on the concept of point. In fact, space and point seem to appear at the opposite ends of a scale of inertia. The picture that I get is shown above.

So, an absence of “point location” does not mean “absence of location”. It means a location spread out in a manner of continuity that is very different from a “set of points.”

The statement, “A physical point location in space depends on the distribution of mass around it” means that there is the continuity of space corresponding to “zero inertia” that acts as the background. In this background exist point locations as “concentrated inertia.” I shall explain this as further questions arise.

Basically, I believe that physical space and location can be described more coherently in terms of inertia. This description bypasses the contradiction posed by a mathematical description of space as a set of points.

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By vinaire | Comments (3)

Inertia, Gravity and Charge in Life

February 25, 2023 – 7:02 AM

Dimensions

  1. Cycles – T-1, Time – T,  Distance – L
  2. Speed – LT-1, Momentum – MLT-1
  3. Acceleration – LT-2, Force – MLT-2
  4. Energy – ML2T-2

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Motion and Inertia

  1. Oscillation has period (T) and frequency (T-1). Frequency is inverse of period. 
  2. Motion adds wavelength to oscillation (LT-1). Inertia (mass) balances motion (L-1T).
  3. Momentum, therefore, has no unit. Momentum is naturally conserved.
  4. If mass has the dimensions of inertia (L-1T), then
    • Force has dimensions of frequency (T-1), and
    • Energy has dimensions of velocity (LT-1).

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Space and Gravity

  1. Space is more the size of the particle that is increasing from matter to radiation.
  2. Gravity is more like the centeredness of particle that is decreasing from system of matter to system of radiation.
  3. Expansion of the universe indicates a transition from matter to radiation.

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Sensations and Centeredness

  1. Total momentum of an isolated system remains unchanged in spite of interactions within it.
  2. The interactions within the isolated system shall consist of actions and reactions.
  3. Thus, sensations of substantiality come about.
  4. With mass (inertia) viewed as inverse of motion (velocity), force is seen as frequency (see above),
  5. Frequency is the core of centeredness. This is fixation of attention.

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Charge

  1. A sudden change in centeredness manifests as charge. This is felt as shock.
  2. Charge manifests at the interface between the nucleus and the electronic region of the atom.

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By vinaire | Also posted in Physics | Comments (1)

Gravity and Particles

February 24, 2023 – 8:00 PM

So far, the physicists have been unable to find the “graviton,” the supposed quantum particle for the field of gravity. This could be because there is a good possibility that the graviton is about the size of the universe.

I make this speculation because gravity lies at the very bottom of the Spectrum of substance. Its wavelength is practically infinite. So, the particles of all other consistencies may be assumed to exist within the “particle of gravity,” just like the galaxies, stars and planets exist within the physical space.

We may compare the “particle of gravity” to the physical space of this universe. We may postulate that the “physical space” is continuous and it is described by gravity.

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Particles within Particles

Within the physical space lie the particles of the spectrum of substance. The particles of lower consistency have much larger size that the particle of higher consistencies. We  may postulate that the particles of higher consistencies exist within the particles of lower consistencies. Thus, each particle has its own space that shrinks as one goes up the spectrum of substance. 

Thus, there is “light space,” “electron space” and “neutron and proton space.” All of these spaces exist within the continuous “gravity space.” The distances in space that we measure are consistent only with the “neutron and proton space.” The distances in “gravity space,” which contains all other spaces, are not always consistent.

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Mathematical Physics

So, we can now see that infinity of discrete points do not make the continuous space in mathematical Physics. 

All these points of mathematical physics have the property of “centeredness.” The higher is the number of cycles, the more a physical point is “centered.” The ultimate “centeredness” of a physical point would be infinity. 

The inverse of “centeredness” would provide us with the “absolute speed” of the physical point. The absolute speed of a point with infinite “centeredness” shall be zero.

In Physics, as one goes up the spectrum of substance, the consistency and inertia increase; and the size and speed decrease. Therefore, the consistency, inertia, size and speed are all related. They all have values on an absolute scale. The reference point of this scale is Gravity.

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Gravitational Force

The gravitational force may be viewed as the common denominator of the electromagnetic, weak and strong forces. It is the same force increasing as one moves up the spectrum of substance, and takes up different characteristics.

The basic gravitational force may be represented by the Planck’s constant for the frequency of 1. It is interesting to note that the dimensions of the Planck’s constant are the same as the dimensions for angular momentum.

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By vinaire | Comments (0)

What is a Particle?

February 24, 2023 – 7:51 AM

In the mechanical universe we locate an object by its center of mass (CM). The CM is represented by a mathematical point that is dimensionless. Thus, we get the idea of a particle of matter as a dimensionless point in space. We call it a “point particle.”

But, then, we start visualizing all quantum particles, such as, the proton, electron and photon also as “point particles” too. The reality is that they are not point particles. A particle is a ‘physical entity’. It has a size. 

For example, according to The Spectrum of Substance, a comparison of wavelengths (or frequencies) shows that

an electron is about 2000 times the size of the proton,

and, a photon of light is more than 200,000 times the size of an electron.

The proton has a radius of about 1 x 10-15 meter. It has a CM, and the laws of mechanics apply to it. Therefore, a proton may be visualized as a point particle both mathematically and visually.

But neither the electron, nor the photon has a CM and the laws of mechanics do not apply to them. Therefore, neither of them may be treated as point particles. Their location in space cannot be calculated mathematically with precision.

Based on the above we reach the following conclusions:

  1. The notion of physical location is actually the size of the particle of that substance.
  2. A MATHEMATICAL POINT in space cannot always be equated with a PHYSICAL LOCATION.
  3. The physical location of quantum particles cannot be determined with precision.
  4. Space is continuous; whereas, points are discrete. 
  5. In physics, the mathematical space cannot be assumed to be made of mathematical points.
  6. Calculus assumes the size of the “points” to be uniform. This is not the case in the quantum region.
  7. The mathematics for Quantum Mechanics is very complex because calculus cannot be applied.
  8. Calculus may be applied to solve quantum mechanical problems using the relationship among varying particles sizes.
  9. Thus, it may be possible to simplify the mathematics of Quantum Mechanics.

We may assume particle sizes to be uniform in the mechanical universe as point particles. We cannot apply the same assumption in the quantum universe.

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