We know that matter makes up the Universe; however, what makes up matter? This question has long been challenging to those who ponder upon it – particularly for the physicists.
Considering recent physics trends, two scientists, Larry Silverberg and Jeffrey Eischen, have described an updated way to think about matter. They proposed that matter is not made of particles or waves, as it was believed, but that it is made of energy segments.
Several Theories on Matter
The ancient Greeks imagined five building blocks of matter, namely earth, water, air, fire, and aether. Aether was believed to be the matter that filled the heavens and accounted for stars’ rotation, as noticed from the Earth vantage point.
Later on, Isaac Newton came up with the concept that all matter exists at points, so-called particles. More than a century after, James Clerk Maxwell introduced the idea of electromagnetic wave, which is the fundamental and usually invisible form of magnetism, electricity, and light.
Einstein then proposed a new concept in his general relativity theory – using the mathematical instruments available then, the physicist was able to explain particular physical phenomena better and solve a longstanding enigma about gravity and inertia. Still, instead of enhancing the particles or waves theory, Einstein got rid of it as he came forward with the idea of warping time and space.
Now, using more advanced mathematical tools, the two scientists carrying this new study have demonstrated a new hypothesis that may accurately explain the Universe. Rather than basing the theory on a warping of time and space, they took into consideration that there could be a building block that is even more central than the wave and the particle.
Researchers understand that particles and waves are basically existential opposites – a particle is an origin of matter that exists at just one point, while waves exist everywhere except at the very points that craft them.
Using logic, Silverberg and Eischen said there must be an underlying connection between waves and particles.
Fragments of Energy
The two researchers’ hypothesis begins with a new core concept – that energy always flows through areas of time and space.
They explained the energy as made up of lines that fill up an area of time and space, flowing into and out of that place, never beginning, never-ending, and never intersecting with one another. Starting from the concept of a Universe of flowing energy lines, the scientists looked for a single building block for energy that flows. There were numerous building blocks to mathematically select, but they looked for one that had the features of both the wave and particle.
The answer was a building block that is similar to a concentration of energy, looking like a star and having energy that is highest at the core, and that gets smaller as it departs from the center. The experts described the concentration of energy that flows ‘fragment of energy.’
A New Feasible Concept
The overall result of the testing of this new theory demonstrated how a new building block is able to precisely model bodies from the massive to minuscule. According to the tests, where waves and particles break down, the fragment of energy building block is holding strong.
This means that the fragment could be a single potentially universal building block from which to create reality mathematically. The discoveries could reshape what people think about the building blocks of the Universe.
