The fundamental element of the study of the overwhelming number of natural sciences is matter. In this article we will consider the concept, types of matter, forms of its movement and properties.
What is matter?
For many centuries the concept of matter has changed and improved. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato saw it as the substratum of things, which opposes their idea. Aristotle said that it is something eternal that can neither be created nor destroyed. Later, the philosophers Democritus and Leucippus defined matter as a kind of fundamental substance that makes up all bodies in our world and in the Universe.
The modern concept of matter was given by V. I. Lenin, according to which it is an independent and independent objective category expressed by human perception, sensations, it can also be copied and photographed.
Attributes of Matter
The main characteristics of matter are three features:
- Space.
- Time.
- Movement.
The first two differ in metrological properties, that is, they can be quantitatively measured with special instruments. Space is measuredin meters and its derivatives, and time in hours, minutes, seconds, as well as in days, months, years, etc. Time also has another, no less important property - irreversibility. It is impossible to return to any initial time point, the time vector always has a one-way direction and moves from the past to the future. Unlike time, space is a more complex concept and has a three-dimensional dimension (height, length, width). Thus, all kinds of matter can move in space for a certain period of time.
Forms of motion of matter
Everything that surrounds us moves in space and interacts with each other. Movement occurs continuously and is the main property that all types of matter have. Meanwhile, this process can proceed not only during the interaction of several objects, but also within the substance itself, causing its modifications. The following forms of motion of matter are distinguished:
Mechanical is the movement of objects in space (an apple falling from a branch, a rabbit running)
- Physical - occurs when the body changes its characteristics (for example, the state of aggregation). Examples: snow melts, water evaporates, etc.
- Chemical - modification of the chemical composition of a substance (metal corrosion, glucose oxidation)
- Biological - takes place in living organisms and characterizes vegetative growth, metabolism, reproduction, etc.
- Social form - processessocial interaction: communication, holding meetings, elections, etc.
- Geological - characterizes the movement of matter in the earth's crust and the bowels of the planet: core, mantle.
All the above forms of matter are interconnected, complementary and interchangeable. They cannot exist on their own and are not self-sufficient.
Properties of matter
Ancient and modern science attributed many properties to matter. The most common and obvious is movement, but there are other universal properties:
- She is uncreatable and indestructible. This property means that any body or substance exists for some time, develops, ceases to exist as an initial object, however, matter does not cease to exist, but simply turns into other forms.
- She is eternal and infinite in space.
- Constant movement, transformation, modification.
- Predestination, dependence on generating factors and causes. This property is a kind of explanation of the origin of matter as a consequence of certain phenomena.
Basic types of matter
Modern scientists distinguish three fundamental types of matter:
- A substance that has a certain mass at rest is the most common type. It can consist of particles, molecules, atoms, as well as their compounds that form a physical body.
- Physical field is a special material substance, which is designed to ensure the interaction of objects (substances).
- Physical vacuum - is the material environment with the lowest level of energy.
Next, let's take a closer look at each of the types.
Substance
Substance is a kind of matter, the main property of which is discreteness, that is, discontinuity, limitation. Its structure includes the smallest particles in the form of protons, electrons and neutrons that make up the atom. Atoms combine to form molecules, forming matter, which in turn forms a physical body or fluid substance.
Any substance has a number of individual characteristics that distinguish it from others: mass, density, boiling and melting point, crystal lattice structure. Under certain conditions, different substances can be combined and mixed. In nature, they occur in three states of aggregation: solid, liquid and gaseous. In this case, a specific state of aggregation only corresponds to the conditions of the content of the substance and the intensity of molecular interaction, but is not its individual characteristic. So, water at different temperatures can take on liquid, solid, and gaseous forms.
Physical field
Types of physical matter also include such a component as a physical field. It is a kind of system in which material bodies interact. The field is not an independent object, but rather a carrier of the specific properties of the particles that formed it. Thus, the momentum released from one particle, but not absorbed by another, is an attributefields.
Physical fields are real intangible forms of matter that have the property of continuity. They can be classified according to various criteria:
- Depending on the field-forming charge, there are: electric, magnetic and gravitational fields.
- By the nature of the movement of charges: dynamic field, statistical (contains charged particles that are stationary relative to each other).
- By physical nature: macro- and microfields (created by the movement of individual charged particles).
- Depending on the environment of existence: external (which surrounds charged particles), internal (field inside matter), true (total value of external and internal fields).
Physical vacuum
In the 20th century, the term "physical vacuum" appeared in physics as a compromise between materialists and idealists to explain some phenomena. The former attributed material properties to it, while the latter argued that vacuum is nothing but emptiness. Modern physics has refuted the judgments of the idealists and proved that the vacuum is a material medium, also called the quantum field. The number of particles in it is equal to zero, which, however, does not prevent the short-term appearance of particles in intermediate phases. In quantum theory, the energy level of the physical vacuum is conditionally taken as the minimum, that is, equal to zero. However, it has been experimentally proven that the energy field can take on both negative and positive charges. There is a hypothesis thatThe Universe arose precisely in the conditions of an excited physical vacuum.
The structure of the physical vacuum has not yet been fully studied, although many of its properties are known. According to Dirac's hole theory, the quantum field consists of moving quanta with identical charges, the composition of the quanta themselves remains unclear, clusters of which move in the form of wave flows.
