Sunday, 16 June 2013

The Matter Myth: Chapter 5 Analysis

           The fifth chapter of this book discusses a wide variety of topics revolving around the first moments of the Universe’s creation and the matter and antimatter resulting from its creation. The concepts of plank time, quantum theory indeterminism, Einstein’s famous equation, virtual particles, and antimatter and explained. Plank time is the fundamental unit of time that can’t be further divided into smaller intervals. It describes time to have begun when the Universe was 10-43s old. Because time did not begin after plank time, our calculations in physics do not apply to the singularity.
            The quantum theory is based around indeterminism. This theory implies that the Universe is not like clockwork with determined cause and effects, but with indistinct effects. It states that events can occur without causes, matter can follow random paths, and forces do not always produce predetermined actions. Einstein’s theory of relativity states that energy is equivalent to matter. The quantum theory paired with Einstein’s theory of relativity allows energy or matter to appear out of nothing as long as it rapidly disappears. Matter that is formed in this way is defined as virtual particles. Virtual particles do not exist for a long period of time because they do not have enough energy.
            After Einstein’s time, scientists discovered that his equation of E=mc2 was flawed and incomplete. The true equation was E2=m2c4. By square rooting this equation, two possible answers are given, one positive and one negative. The existence of negative energy and antimatter was later confirmed. It is believed that each particle has a reflective antiparticle.
(above) This is a comparison between hydrogen and its antimatter counterpart. Note that they are very similar in structure, although the anti-hydrogen atom is composed of protons and electrons negative energy states.
Bibliography
Davies, Paul, and John Gribbin. The Matter Myth. New York: Orion Productions, 1992. Print
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