Quantum field theory is in a revolutionary concept change.
VERN BENDER
THIS BLOG’S GOAL IS TO COMBINE SCIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY INTO A LEARNED BELIEF RESULT.
Quantum field theory, a revolutionary concept, challenges our traditional understanding of particles. It suggests that the entities we’ve long considered as ‘things’—protons, neutrons, and quarks—are not fundamental entities. Instead, according to this theory, the building blocks of our universe are fields.
Classical fields can have arbitrary values of energy and momentum. Quantum fields are more constrained. We can describe their state as a sum of “excitations,” each of which has a specific frequency, unlike music, which can be thought of as a combination of many frequencies. However, the energy levels at each frequency cannot be arbitrary. Instead, they come in set units. So when a quantum field interacts with another quantum field, the result is that its number of excitations at some given frequency increases or decreases by one.
While ‘excitations’ may seem purely mathematical, it’s important to remember that these are not just abstract entities. They have a tangible physical existence, carry energy and momentum, and can physically influence the world around them.
Under certain conditions, these ‘excitements’ can be very localized. It’s like a pebble dropped in a pond, creating a most pronounced ripple at the point of impact. Similarly, a quantum field is more likely to interact with other fields at a specific location, much like the ripple from the pebble is most pronounced at the point of impact.
So yes, protons, neutrons, and quarks are “things”: they carry energy and momentum from place to place and let other things influence each other through their actions. However, they are not, actually, miniature cannonballs. They can be smeared out. Indeed, we allow for the curved spacetime of gravity/observers. in relativity theory. In that case, two observers may have differing views on what excitations of a quantum field they see, i.e., they will not see the same particle content (but see the same field.) However, at other times, these “particles” are confined in space and, for all practical intents and purposes, behave as though they were miniature cannonballs. For instance, when the electron gun in an old-style CRT display emits electrons, they follow the route prescribed by classical physics for electrically charged particles as they travel toward the screen, influenced by the electric fields of the CRT.
