An Inquiry into the Nature of Things: Metaphysics of Physics
Book Details
Author(s)Jean Louis Van Belle
ISBN / ASINB01HIJQ0H2
ISBN-13978B01HIJQ0H9
Sales Rank1,959,688
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This short book is an alternative introduction to physics. It is referred to as a short inquiry into the nature of being because it does examine the metaphysics behind the physics. It does so by clearly distinguishing reality (physics) from the language (math) that is used to describe it.
The book is innovative in several ways. Most importantly, it does away with the traditional sequential approach to learning physics which - despite Richard Feynman's honorable attempt to revolutionize the didactic approach - has not changed all that much. In contrast, the author goes directly to the core of the subject-matter by exploiting the structural equivalence between the gravitational and electromagnetic force law to directly get the complicated equations which, in a physics handbook, are presented as a gem one deserves only after doing a graduate degree in math. This book directly gives the reader what he wants:
1. It shows how the wavefunction for the photon looks like - and not approximately, but exactly.
2. It develops a Poynting vector for the matter-wave.
As such, it will complete the reader's intuitive understanding of the Universe. It shows, for example, how the classical dimensional analysis of physics equations will always reflect the standard interpretation of energy as a vibrating mass. It is, therefore, also recommended reading for anyone venturing into string theory. The academics and the skeptics should note the following key results:
1. The author shows - unequivocally - that the physical dimension of the components of the matter-wave can be expressed as a force per mass unit. That reflects the electromagnetic model, in which the strength of the components of the electromagnetic wave is expressed as a force per unit of electric charge.
2. The twist to it - the orthogonality of the magnetic field vector, and of the imaginary component of the matter-wave - is dealt with in a superb geometric argument.
3. The author shows how the mathematical distance between two unit charges (positive or negative), which is twice the difference between no mass and the unit mass (or between 0 and 1), translates into the additional factor, the infamous 2 or 1/2 factor, which is required to make Schrödinger's equation work for the photon. [As an additional bonus, the author decisively shows the historical argument isn't worth looking into.] The conclusion is obvious: the electromagnetic wave packs twice the energy of a simple matter-wave, because it gives us two waves for the price of one. Hence, we may think of the electric charge as doubling the mass of a non-charged particle.
In short, the author shows us how the gravitational and electromagnetic field theory can be unified - and he does so in a straightforward and intuitive way. As such, this work is a useful complement to the story of Weinberg, Salam and Glashow, who painstakingly unified the electromagnetic force with the weak force and got a Nobel Prize for it.
The book is innovative in several ways. Most importantly, it does away with the traditional sequential approach to learning physics which - despite Richard Feynman's honorable attempt to revolutionize the didactic approach - has not changed all that much. In contrast, the author goes directly to the core of the subject-matter by exploiting the structural equivalence between the gravitational and electromagnetic force law to directly get the complicated equations which, in a physics handbook, are presented as a gem one deserves only after doing a graduate degree in math. This book directly gives the reader what he wants:
1. It shows how the wavefunction for the photon looks like - and not approximately, but exactly.
2. It develops a Poynting vector for the matter-wave.
As such, it will complete the reader's intuitive understanding of the Universe. It shows, for example, how the classical dimensional analysis of physics equations will always reflect the standard interpretation of energy as a vibrating mass. It is, therefore, also recommended reading for anyone venturing into string theory. The academics and the skeptics should note the following key results:
1. The author shows - unequivocally - that the physical dimension of the components of the matter-wave can be expressed as a force per mass unit. That reflects the electromagnetic model, in which the strength of the components of the electromagnetic wave is expressed as a force per unit of electric charge.
2. The twist to it - the orthogonality of the magnetic field vector, and of the imaginary component of the matter-wave - is dealt with in a superb geometric argument.
3. The author shows how the mathematical distance between two unit charges (positive or negative), which is twice the difference between no mass and the unit mass (or between 0 and 1), translates into the additional factor, the infamous 2 or 1/2 factor, which is required to make Schrödinger's equation work for the photon. [As an additional bonus, the author decisively shows the historical argument isn't worth looking into.] The conclusion is obvious: the electromagnetic wave packs twice the energy of a simple matter-wave, because it gives us two waves for the price of one. Hence, we may think of the electric charge as doubling the mass of a non-charged particle.
In short, the author shows us how the gravitational and electromagnetic field theory can be unified - and he does so in a straightforward and intuitive way. As such, this work is a useful complement to the story of Weinberg, Salam and Glashow, who painstakingly unified the electromagnetic force with the weak force and got a Nobel Prize for it.
