A New Look at the Universe: What Are Fragments of Energy?

The universe is made up of clusters of billionsgalaxies interconnected into a single network - a cosmic web. But how does it work at a deeper level? A new theory put forward by two theoretical physicists from North Carolina State University states that no particles or waves exist. All there is is “fragments of energy,” the building blocks of our universe. The theory is based on the fundamental idea that energy always flows through space and time. For this reason, the authors of the study propose to think of energy as lines that go in and out of a region of space, never intersect with each other and have no beginning or end. Note that the new theory contradicts Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (GTR), which, despite its shortcomings, is the most accurate physical theory to date describing the structure of the Universe.

A new study by American theoretical physicists could turn everything we know about the universe.

From Aristotle to the present day

In the 4th century BC, the ancient Greek philosopherAristotle formulated the idea that the universe is made up of five building blocks of matter: earth, water, air, fire, and celestial ether. This idea remained popular for over 2000 years and haunted several generations of alchemists who tried to get rich by turning the earth into gold. Their unsuccessful attempts continued until chemist Robert Boyle abandoned the classical elements in favor of the idea that all matter is made of particles. Interestingly, Boyle's idea resulted in one of the most explosive periods in the history of science, including the formulation of classical mechanics by Sir Isaac Newton.

The triumph of particle physics continued untilScottish scientist James Maxwell did not introduce electromagnetic waves into his equations. Together, particles and waves have become the well-known building blocks of all matter. The particles served as separate bricks, like matter existing at one point in space. The electromagnetic waves constituted a kind of solution that held it all together, like energy scattering throughout space like waves.

According to the new theory, neither particles nor waves exist.

This is interesting: Why is quantum physics akin to magic?

According to The Conversation, the separation of matter intoparticles and waves made predictions easier for physicists because they could easily describe the behavior of particles and waves. But in physics, nothing comes easy, and the theory quickly turned upside down.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the famous double-slit experiment showed that particles and waves are not so different from each other. The experiment showed that particles can sometimes behave like waves and light sometimes behaves like particles. In 1915, Albert Einstein formulated the Generalthe theory of relativity (GR), which explains gravity based on the ability of space to "bend". Together, these discoveries have shaped the course of modern physics, but the connection between them is still unclear.

What is a Fragment of Energy?

“Using new mathematical tools, wedemonstrated a new theory that can accurately describe the universe. Instead of basing the theory on the curvature of space and time, we hypothesized that there might be a building block that is more fundamental than a particle and a wave, ”wrote study co-author Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanics and aerospace engineering at the University of North Carolina.

He and his colleague Jeffrey Eishen found the fragmentenergy is an excellent candidate for the role of the sought-after building block of the Universe, possessing the properties of both particles and waves. The authors of the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal, note that the fragment of energy is very similar to stars in a distant galaxy: from afar, the galaxy looks like a bright speck of light radiating outward. But upon closer inspection, astronomers can identify the individual stars that make up the galaxy. A fragment of energy, according to scientists, is a concentration of energy that flows and dissipates outward, away from the center.

The Hubble Space Telescope observes how stars form in distant galaxies.

By introducing a piece of energy into computing, physicsformulated a new set of equations for solving physical problems. The researchers decided to test their theory on two problems that were once solved by Albert Einstein.

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orbit of mercury

Einstein accurately predicted that the curvaturespace-time by the mass of the Sun will cause the orbit of Mercury to oscillate over time. Note that general relativity was confirmed by two observations made by astronomers. The first was the tiny annual shift in the orbit of Mercury, predicted by the great physicist. The second is the bending of light as Mercury passes through curved spacetime near the Sun.

"If our new theory had a chance to replace particle and wave with a supposedly more fundamental piece, we would have to solve these problems with our theory," Silverberg writes.

This is how orbital precession looks like - a phenomenon in which the axis of rotation of a body changes direction in space under the action of a moment of external force.

To solve the problem of Mercury, Silverberg andEishen modeled the Sun as a massive chunk of energy, and Mercury as a smaller chunk of energy orbiting it. In the problem of the bending of light, the Sun was modeled in the same way, but the light was modeled as a massless point moving at the speed of light (photon). After calculating the trajectories of the moving fragments of energy, the researchers got the same answers as Einstein. Curious, isn't it?

The solutions obtained show how mucha fragment of energy can be effective in modeling the behavior of matter from micro-to macroscopic scale. Although scientists' formulation is not yet capable of revolutionizing physics, their theory may allow a different look at the universe.