Physics Stuff
Odds and Ends for the Classroom and Beyond
Some answers, useful resources and more questions.
Fundamentalism
What is it to be elemental?
As the prime Numbers and the Riemann zeta function are to Number theory, the quarks and and the group theory of Sophius Lie are to Quantum Theory of particles
Reductionism in the Sciences
The Reduction Program of the Sciences is about identifying explanatory factors for observations and recognizing patterns between these sets of irreducible Elements. Each of the Sciences has a regime of Scale of Applicability. The Waterfall of dependency from largest to smallest scale is: Biology, Chemistry, Physics. Mathematics provides the language of the continuos laminar and turbulent flow of laws that describe the regimes. The regimes are in themselves, described in an internally consistently way, irrespective of whether truly we could find a more fundamental description.
A Universe of Elementals
In Science we try to reduce phenomena to a set of elemental factors.
Chemistry has laws that govern at the scale of molecules of elements dictated to by the configuration of electric charges in its combined outer shells.
Biology's molecules are more complex, but we can describe the building of Life to configurations of the Six Biological Elements: Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Phosphorous and Sulphur.
Music is about the harmonious addition of the fundamental (of the instrument) chimed and beat with its and other instruments overtones. Music Composition is the composition of Harmonics. In the class of wave objects, the fundamental factors are the harmonics of sine waves of multiple integer frequencies. We deploy Fourier analysis to decompose a complex wave into its fundamentals. Think of the differences between Sound and Light: Purple light is just seen by our eyes as purple, not red and blue whereas sounds can be decomposed on the fly by the ear into their composite harmonics.
In Maths all countable numbers can be built out of Prime Numbers. So 45=3x15=3x3x5. As such we can reduce any integer to its Prime Factors. This is key to the encryption on the internet. They key is the set of prime factors of a very large 200 digit number. On the flip side we can create any integer from its Prime Factor.
The laws of Fundamental Physics are described by the Standard Model. The Model describes Nucleons or mesons as bound together by a Strong Force of gluons, composed of 3 flavours of quarks. The weak force of nuclear decay is described in terms of its W,Z bosons that are emitted with nucleaon decay along with electrons and neutrinos. The electromagnetic force mediated by the photon gives rise to the charged matter that enables Chemistry to take place. Matter devoid of a net electric charge is controlled by the force of gravity that acts so as to attract bodies according to the size of their inertial "charge".
String theory replaces these Iredducible particles that are points of no further composite Stuff with Strings that waggle according to the theory of Harmonics of closed (think String Instruments like violin - tied at its nodes and vibrating at a maximum at it anti-nodes) Loops of Strings.
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