progressBen has discovered particles so incredibly complex that it requires very highly advanced mathematics to slightly understand them even though they are simultaneously the simplest and most rudimentary fractions of our universe. However, these particles must have some form of an origin or a substance that is so pure it is the sole substance of space itself. Ben's ninth goal will be to find out if these particles have an origin or if they are the already the pure stuff of the universe. reflectionAccording to an account on the Scientific American website, the fundamental particles that create protons and neutrons are completely and utterly indivisible. They are considered to be the true, most elementary parts of the universe. However there are theories that defy this consideration such as String Theory devised by Steven Hawking. This String Theory states that there are strings that are made of pure space-time which are what create the quarks and bosons and leptons and gluons and every other subatomic particle. These strings are theorized to be like stretched guitar strings and act as sources of gravity which collect other strings around themselves forming quarks then those quarks go on to form protons/neutrons and on and on. However, while there is only theoretical mathematics to back this String Theory it is widely accepted as a truth and most particle mathematics takes it into account when studying the subatomic universe.
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ProgressIn the most recent post, Ben described how stars are completely reliant on the energy contained in the bonds of an object so small that it is 99% empty space. However, Ben knows that where there is matter there are component parts. Therefore, finding out what makes up those minuscule objects and how those parts behave will be Ben's eighth goal. reflectionIt appears that everything in the universe is made of 'elementary' particles however, it seems on par to deduce that the so-called 'elementary' particles are actually made up of even smaller parts. This was proven by Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in their 'Quark Model' which represents the subatomic particles of Protons and Neutrons as being formed by 3 even smaller particles which Gell-Mann and Zweig named the Quark. They theorized that these Quarks came in 6 different types. These types were named Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top, and Bottom due to how they acted. A proton is formed by combining a single Down quark with two Up quarks and a neutron is formed by combing two Down quarks and a single Up quark. These quarks also fit the bill as to why protons are positively charged and neutrons lack a specific charge as an Up quark is equal to a +2/3 positive charge and a Down quark is equal to a -1/3 negative charge. This can be seen as in a proton there are two Up quarks giving it a charge of +4/3, but then combined with a Down quark it cancels out 1/3 of the charge to bring it to a flat +3/3 charge therefore giving a proton a positive charge. This process can be repeated in order to describe why protons and neutrons act the ways that they do however, the Quark is not the only particle that creates the atom. There are also Leptons which, combined with Quarks, make up the true elementary particles as they are what create the atoms themselves. These Leptons are classified as the Electron, the Muon, and the Tau particles as well as their Neutrino counterparts. Electrons are fairly common, but Muons are not even though they are the particles that decay into either an Electron or its antimatter counterpart the Positron. The Tau particles however, are the most massive type of Lepton and as they require a great deal of advanced calculus to explain it would be best to refrain on going too deep into the properties of the Tau particle. In conclusion, what we believe to be the smallest things in existence actually give way to even smaller objects that seem to be made of the pure stuff of existence.
progressBenny has, so far, been focused on demonstrating the actions and rhythms of the massive and the seemingly immortal. However, those massive and infinite objects that hang in the sky are actually governed by objects of such an infinitesimally small size that they seem as though they can be ignored. Benny's 7th goal will be to explain the nature of these infinitesimal objects and create a baseline from which he can go into further detail on how the microscopic create and govern the colossal. reflectionThe stars and planets and countless other celestial bodies that inhabit the universe are made of components which themselves are made of components and that process goes on and on until you finally hit the objects atomic structure. These atoms are the smallest components of matter that have physical properties, yes there are smaller objects such as quarks and the theoretical strings however, those don't affect matter in any meaningful way until they bind together to form protons, electrons, and neutrons. The best way to analyze these atoms is to see how they gather together to form and drive the some of the largest objects in our universe, the stars themselves. Within a star there is an inconceivable amount of Hydrogen and Helium which are the simplest and most basic atoms known to man. These atoms come together until they reach a point of such density that gravity begins to slam the nuclei of atoms together which creates an almost unimaginable amount of heat. At this point the star 'ignites' into a vast ball of nuclear fusion. This nuclear fusion is sustained only as long as there is enough viable fuel in the form of atoms and the energy gained from breaking their bonds.
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May 2017
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