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Single Idea 20639

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

Full Idea

Quantum field theory implies that the vacuum of space is filled with particles and antiparticles which bubble in and out of existence on faster and faster timescales over shorter and shorter distances.

Gist of Idea

Quantum fields contain continual rapid creation and disappearance

Source

Frank Close (Theories of Everything [2017], 6 'Intro')

Book Ref

Close,Frank: 'Theories of Everything' [Profile Books 2017], p.108

A Reaction

Ponder this sentence until you head aches. Existence, but not as we know it, Jim. Close says calculations in QED about the electron confirm this.

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]