more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 17548

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / b. Fields ]

Full Idea

In the theory of fields of force one came back to the older idea, that action is transferred from one point to a neighbouring point. ...With Maxwell the fields of force seemed to have acquired the same degree of reality as the body's of Newton's theory.

Gist of Idea

Maxwell introduced real fields, which transferred forces from point to point

Source

Werner Heisenberg (Physics and Philosophy [1958], 06)

Book Ref

Heisenberg,Werner: 'Physics and Philosophy' [Penguin 1989], p.83

Related Idea

Idea 17547 Newton's idea of force acting over a long distance was very strange [Heisenberg on Newton]

The 14 ideas with the same theme [foundational background containing particles]:

15314 Faraday's single field of variable forces introduces a criterion of Unity into what is ultimate [Faraday, by Harré/Madden]
17548 Maxwell introduced real fields, which transferred forces from point to point [Heisenberg]
18202 The concept of a field gradually replaced the substances in explaining relations between charges [Einstein/Infeld]
20639 Quantum fields contain continual rapid creation and disappearance [Close]
11931 Energy fields are discontinuous at the very small [Molnar]
18223 In theories of fields, space-time points or regions are causal agents [Field,H]
21201 A 'field' is just a region to which points can be assigned in space and time [Martin,BR]
21212 The Higgs field, unlike others, has a nozero value in a state without particles [Martin,BR]
21731 Fields can be 'scalar', or 'vector', or 'tensor', or 'spinor' [Baggott]
21730 A 'field' is a property with a magnitude, distributed across all of space and time [Baggott]
21161 In the standard model all the fundamental force fields merge at extremely high energies [New Sci.]
20463 There are about fifteen particles fields, plus a few force fields [Rovelli]
20464 The world consists of quantum fields, with elementary events happening in spacetime [Rovelli]
20462 Because it is quantised, a field behaves like a set of packets of energy [Rovelli]