This article will consider what is called the forces of nature - the fundamental electromagnetic interaction and the principles on which it is built. It will also talk about the possibilities of the existence of new approaches to the study of this topic. Even at school, in physics lessons, students are faced with an explanation of the concept of "force". They learn that forces can be very diverse - the force of friction, the force of attraction, the force of elasticity and many others like that. Not all of them can be called fundamental, since very often the phenomenon of force is secondary (the force of friction, for example, with its interaction of molecules). Electromagnetic interaction can also be secondary - as a consequence. Molecular physics cites the Van der Waals force as an example. Particle physics also provides many examples.
In nature
I would like to get to the bottom of the processes occurring in nature, when it makes the electromagnetic interaction work. What exactly is the fundamental force that determines all the secondary forces it has built?Everyone knows that the electromagnetic interaction, or, as it is also called, electrical forces, is fundamental. This is evidenced by Coulomb's law, which has its own generalization following from Maxwell's equations. The latter describe all the magnetic and electrical forces that exist in nature. That is why it has been proven that the interaction of electromagnetic fields is the fundamental force of nature. The next example is gravity. Even schoolchildren know about the law of universal gravitation of Isaac Newton, who also recently received his own generalization by Einstein's equations, and, according to his theory of gravity, this force of electromagnetic interaction in nature is also fundamental.
Once upon a time, it was thought that only these two fundamental forces exist, but science has moved forward, gradually proving that this is not at all the case. For example, with the discovery of the atomic nucleus, it was necessary to introduce the concept of nuclear force, otherwise how to understand the principle of keeping particles inside the nucleus, why they do not fly away in different directions. Understanding how the electromagnetic force works in nature has helped to measure, study and describe nuclear forces. However, later scientists came to the conclusion that nuclear forces are secondary and in many ways similar to the van der Waals forces. In fact, only the forces that quarks provide by interacting with each other are really fundamental. Then already - a secondary effect - is the interaction of electromagnetic fields between neutrons and protons in the nucleus. Truly fundamental is the interaction of quarks that exchange gluons. Thus wasa third truly fundamental force discovered in nature.
Continuation of this story
Elementary particles decay, heavy ones - into lighter ones, and their decay describes a new force of electromagnetic interaction, which is called just that - the force of weak interaction. Why weak? Yes, because the electromagnetic interaction in nature is much stronger. And again, it turned out that this theory of weak interaction, which so harmoniously entered the picture of the world and initially excellently described the decays of elementary particles, did not reflect the same postulates if the energy increased. That is why the old theory was reworked into another - the theory of weak interaction, this time turned out to be universal. Although it was built on the same principles as the other theories that described the electromagnetic interaction of particles. In modern times, there are four studied and proven fundamental interactions, and the fifth is on the way, it will be discussed later. All four - gravitational, strong, weak, electromagnetic - are built on a single principle: the force that arises between particles is the result of some exchange carried out by a carrier, or otherwise - an interaction mediator.
What kind of helper is this? This is a photon - a particle without mass, but nevertheless successfully building electromagnetic interaction due to the exchange of a quantum of electromagnetic waves or a quantum of light. Electromagnetic interaction is carried outby means of photons in the field of charged particles that communicate with a certain force, this is precisely what Coulomb's law interprets. There is another massless particle - the gluon, there are eight varieties of it, it helps quarks communicate. This electromagnetic interaction is an attraction between charges, and it is called strong. Yes, and weak interaction is not complete without intermediaries, which are particles with mass, moreover, they are massive, that is, heavy. These are intermediate vector bosons. Their mass and heaviness explains the weakness of interaction. The gravitational force produces an exchange of a quantum of the gravitational field. This electromagnetic interaction is the attraction of particles, it has not yet been studied enough, the graviton has not even been experimentally detected yet, and quantum gravity is not fully felt by us, which is why we cannot describe it yet.
The Fifth Force
We have considered four types of fundamental interaction: strong, weak, electromagnetic, gravitational. Interaction is a certain act of particle exchange, and one cannot do without the concept of symmetry, since there is no interaction that is not associated with it. It is she who determines the number of particles and their mass. With exact symmetry, the mass is always zero. So, a photon and a gluon have no mass, it is equal to zero, and a graviton does not. And if the symmetry is broken, the mass ceases to be zero. Thus, intermediate vector bison have mass because the symmetry is broken. These four fundamental interactions explain everything thatwe see and feel. The remaining forces indicate that their electromagnetic interaction is secondary. However, in 2012 there was a breakthrough in science and another particle was discovered, which immediately became famous. The revolution in the scientific world was organized by the discovery of the Higgs boson, which, as it turned out, also serves as a carrier of interactions between leptons and quarks.
That is why physicists are now saying that a fifth force has appeared, mediated by the Higgs boson. The symmetry is broken here too: the Higgs boson has a mass. Thus, the number of interactions (the word "force" is replaced by this word in modern particle physics) reached five. Perhaps we are waiting for new discoveries, because we do not know exactly if there are other interactions besides these. It is very possible that the model we have already built and which we are considering today, which would seem to perfectly explain all the phenomena observed in the world, is not quite complete. And perhaps, after some time, new interactions or new forces will appear. Such a probability exists, if only because we very gradually learned that there are fundamental interactions known today - strong, weak, electromagnetic, gravitational. After all, if there are supersymmetric particles in nature, which are already being talked about in the scientific world, then this means the existence of a new symmetry, and symmetry always entails the appearance of new particles, mediators between them. Thus, we will hear about a previously unknown fundamental force, as we once learned with surprise thatthere are, for example, electromagnetic, weak interaction. Our knowledge of our own nature is very incomplete.
Connectedness
The most interesting thing is that any new interaction must necessarily lead to a completely unknown phenomenon. For example, if we had not learned about the weak interaction, we would never have discovered decay, and if it were not for our knowledge of decay, no study of the nuclear reaction would be possible. And if we did not know nuclear reactions, we would not understand how the sun shines for us. After all, if it did not shine, life on Earth would not have formed. So the presence of interaction says that it is vital. If there were no strong interaction, there would be no stable atomic nuclei. Due to electromagnetic interaction, the Earth receives energy from the Sun, and the rays of light coming from it warm the planet. And all interactions known to us are absolutely necessary. Here is the Higgs one, for example. The Higgs boson provides the particle with mass through interaction with the field, without which we would not have survived. And how to stay on the surface of the planet without gravitational interaction? It would be impossible not only for us, but for nothing at all.
Absolutely all interactions, even those that we do not yet know about, are a necessity for everything that humanity knows, understands and loves to exist. What can we not know? Yes, a lot. For example, we know that the proton is stable in the nucleus. This is very, very important to us.stability, otherwise life would not exist in the same way. However, experiments show that the life of a proton is a time-limited quantity. Long, of course, 1034 years. But this means that sooner or later the proton will also decay, and this will require some new force, that is, a new interaction. Regarding proton decay, there are already theories where a new, much higher degree of symmetry is assumed, which means that a new interaction may well exist, about which we still know nothing.
Grand Unification
In the unity of nature, the only principle of building all fundamental interactions. Many people have questions about the number of them and the explanation of the reasons for this particular number. A great many versions have been built here, and they are very different in terms of the conclusions drawn. They explain the presence of just such a number of fundamental interactions in various ways, but they all turn out to be with a single principle of building evidence. Researchers always try to combine the most diverse types of interactions into one. Therefore, such theories are called the Grand Unification theories. As if the world tree branches: there are many branches, but the trunk is always one.
All because there is an idea that unites all these theories. The root of all known interactions is the same, feeding one trunk, which, as a result of the loss of symmetry, began to branch and formed different fundamental interactions, which we can experimentallyobserve. This hypothesis cannot yet be tested, because it requires incredibly high-energy physics, inaccessible to today's experiments. It is also possible that we will never master these energies. But it is quite possible to get around this obstacle.
Apartment
We have the Universe, this natural accelerator, and all the processes that take place in it make it possible to test even the most daring hypotheses regarding the common root of all known interactions. Another most interesting task of understanding the interactions in nature is, perhaps, even more difficult. It is necessary to understand how gravity relates to the rest of the forces of nature. This fundamental interaction stands apart, as it were, despite the fact that this theory is similar to all others by the principle of construction.
Einstein was engaged in the theory of gravity, trying to connect it with electromagnetism. Despite the seeming reality of solving this problem, the theory did not work then. Now humanity knows a little more, in any case, we know about the strong and weak interactions. And if now to finish building this unified theory, then the lack of knowledge will certainly have an effect again. Until now, it has not been possible to put gravity on a par with other interactions, since everyone obeys the laws dictated by quantum physics, but gravity does not. According to quantum theory, all particles are quanta of some particular field. But quantum gravity does not exist, at least not yet. However, the number of already open interactions loudly repeats that it cannot butbe some kind of unified scheme.
Electric field
Back in 1860, the great nineteenth century physicist James Maxwell managed to create a theory explaining electromagnetic induction. When the magnetic field changes over time, an electric field is formed at a certain point in space. And if a closed conductor is found in this field, then an induction current appears in the electric field. With his theory of electromagnetic fields, Maxwell proves that the reverse process is also possible: if you change the electric field in time at a certain point in space, a magnetic field will definitely appear. This means that any change in time of the magnetic field can cause the emergence of a changing electric field, and a change in the electric field can produce a changing magnetic field. These variables, fields generating each other, organize a single field - electromagnetic.
The most important result arising from the formulas of Maxwell's theory is the prediction that there are electromagnetic waves, that is, electromagnetic fields propagating in time and space. The source of the electromagnetic field is the electric charges moving with acceleration. Unlike sound (elastic) waves, electromagnetic waves can propagate in any substance, even in a vacuum. Electromagnetic interaction in vacuum propagates at the speed of light (c=299,792 kilometers per second). The wavelength can be different. Electromagnetic waves from ten thousand meters to 0.005 meters areradio waves that serve us to transmit information, that is, signals over a certain distance without any wires. Radio waves are created by current at high frequencies that flow in the antenna.
What are the waves
If the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation is between 0.005 meters and 1 micrometer, that is, those that are in the range between radio waves and visible light are infrared radiation. It is emitted by all heated bodies: batteries, stoves, incandescent lamps. Special devices convert infrared radiation into visible light in order to obtain images of objects that emit it, even in absolute darkness. Visible light emits wavelengths ranging from 770 to 380 nanometers - resulting in a color from red to purple. This section of the spectrum is extremely important for human life, because we receive a huge part of the information about the world through vision.
If electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength shorter than violet, it is ultraviolet, which kills pathogenic bacteria. X-rays are invisible to the eye. They almost do not absorb layers of matter that are opaque to visible light. X-ray radiation diagnoses diseases of the internal organs of humans and animals. If electromagnetic radiation arises from the interaction of elementary particles and is emitted by excited nuclei, gamma radiation is obtained. This is the widest range in the electromagnetic spectrum because it is not limited to high energies. Gamma radiation can be soft and hard: energy transitions inside atomic nuclei -soft, and in nuclear reactions - hard. These quanta easily destroy molecules, and especially biological ones. Fortunately, gamma radiation cannot pass through the atmosphere. Gamma rays can be observed from space. At ultrahigh energies, the electromagnetic interaction propagates at a speed close to the speed of light: gamma quanta crush the nuclei of atoms, breaking them into particles flying in different directions. When braking, they emit light visible through special telescopes.
From the past to the future
Electromagnetic waves, as already mentioned, were predicted by Maxwell. He carefully studied and tried to mathematically believe the slightly naive pictures of Faraday, which depicted magnetic and electrical phenomena. It was Maxwell who discovered the absence of symmetry. And it was he who managed to prove by a series of equations that alternating electric fields generate magnetic ones and vice versa. This led him to the idea that such fields break away from the conductors and move through the vacuum at some gigantic speed. And he figured it out. The speed was close to three hundred thousand kilometers per second.
This is how theory and experiment interact. An example is the discovery by which we learned about the existence of electromagnetic waves. With the help of physics, completely heterogeneous concepts were combined in it - magnetism and electricity, since this is a physical phenomenon of the same order, just its different sides are in interaction. Theories are built one after another, and allthey are closely related to each other: the theory of the electroweak interaction, for example, where weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces are described from the same positions, then all this is united by quantum chromodynamics, covering the strong and electroweak interactions (here the accuracy is still lower, but work continues). Such areas of physics as quantum gravity and string theory are being intensively researched.
Conclusions
It turns out that the space surrounding us is completely permeated with electromagnetic radiation: these are the stars and the Sun, the Moon and other celestial bodies, this is the Earth itself, and every phone in the hands of a person, and radio station antennas - all this emits electromagnetic waves, named differently. Depending on the vibration frequency that the object emits, infrared radiation, radio waves, visible light, biofield rays, x-rays, and the like are distinguished.
When an electromagnetic field propagates, it becomes an electromagnetic wave. It is simply an inexhaustible source of energy, causing the electric charges of molecules and atoms to fluctuate. And if the charge oscillates, its movement gets accelerated, and therefore emits an electromagnetic wave. If the magnetic field changes, a vortex electric field is excited, which, in turn, excites a vortex magnetic field. The process goes through space, covering one point after another.
