Gravity is normally the arch - nemesis of quantum mechanics , stubbornly refusing to play nice with the personnel governing the interactions of subatomic particle . Now we ’ve identify a rarefied case where gravity actually assists quantum fundamental interaction , which just might help unify physics .
There are four fundamental force : gravity , the unattackable nuclear force , the weak atomic strength , and the electromagnetic force . For our purposes , all we really need to know is that the last three forces are crucial to all subatomic interactions , and that it appear that they can unify together under the extreme weather condition that survive in the universe ’s first bit .
We cognise that electromagnetics and the watery force merge into the electroweak force at sufficiently eminent energies , and we have good theoretical understanding to conceive the electroweak force would in turn combine with the substantial force at even high energies . That would get us 3/4 of the way to the legendary Grand Unified Theory , which knits together all four fundamental forces into a single framework .
But gravity has no place in this schema . Indeed , the full world of gravity described by Einstein ’s theory of theory of relativity seems to be wholly at betting odds with the quantum existence , as attempts to combine the two mathematical frameworks always lead to a tidy sum of ludicrous results . ( For more on this job , check out ourtwoprimerson particle physics . ) So any outcome that even suggest gravitational force and quantum auto-mechanic can exist in the same cosmos should be considered very dear news show .
https://gizmodo.com/the-ultimate-field-guide-to-subatomic-particles-5639192
https://gizmodo.com/the-undiscovered-particles-on-the-edge-of-known-physics-5640527
And that ’s fairly much the discovery physicist David Toms has made . He found that , at least in one case , gravity actually smooths out the otherwise jumpy interaction between two set of particles . He worked with quantum electrodynamics , which considers the interactions between negatron and photons . Above a certain muscularity brink , these relationship seem to stop being calculable because they are so overpoweringly impregnable .
When Toms included a quantum preparation of gravity , he discovered gravity actually calms down this otherwise ferociously strong interaction , reducing the force of interaction between electron and photon to next to nothing at fantastically high energy levels , anywhere between a quadrillion and 10 quintillion giga - electron - volts . Without gravity around , these interaction would be beyond the capableness of quantum mechanics to calculate .
So , what ’s the bigger picture here ? Honestly , we do n’t have it away yet . Even Toms admits that this is just an interesting feature of the equivalence and not much more . He has no theoretical reason to excuse why soberness console quantum interaction in this way , and there ’s no guarantee that this is a universal feature film of all particle interaction .
Toms does have an idea as to how to push forward . He desire to probe the forte of gravity at these high energy and see what happens , using a variation of the math he used to demonstrate the weakening of the electrodynamic interactions . If gravity demonstrates the same weakening effect of the other forces , then might just be the form of pocket-sized but real commons theorist can expand into greater links between the strength . Assuming gobbler can demonstrate this effect , it could transform what is now a scientific oddness into a potential road to finally unifying the four strength .
[ Nature News;original newspaper here ]
Electronmad physicsParticle physicsPhysicsSciencetheoretical physic
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