On Wed, Jun 1, 2016 at 11:18 AM, John Clark <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 1, 2016 at 7:33 AM, spudboy100 via Everything List < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> > > >> I have to ponder what "fundamental" means? > > > It means if the chain of "what is this made of?" questions is not > infinitely long then it terminates at something fundamental. If the chain > is infinitely long then nothing is fundamental. > > > >> > >> Non divisible yes, and like the neutrino and the muon, also non >> divisible. > > > My hunch is the muon is not fundamental because it spontaneously breaks > down into smaller parts, but the electron and neutrino and photon are. > But combine an electron with a positron and both will "break down" into light. Or stuff a bunch of electrons into a small space to create a black hole, which will evaporate into photons and possibly other particles. Is the photon then more fundamental than the electron? What about "forces" of which the photon is-a vibrating wave of electromagnetic forces moving through space? And would space be more fundamental than the forces within it? It seems you might continue breaking down descriptions of space and its properties until at the lowest level you are dealing with bits. But even bits can be fractional, when it comes down to varying levels of knowledge and certainties. Jason > > >> > >> So, is there something important when we arrive at the non divisible? > > > At that point it is no longer meaningful to ask what is it made of. > > > >> > >> My only objection if we call it this is semantic in the sense that >> fundamental becomes a psychological trap, where further research is halted >> because it means, look no further. >> > > That is a danger, but if the chain of "what is this made of?" questions > really does terminate but we can't prove it then for all eternity we will > be spinning our wheels looking, unsuccessfully, for something deeper. We're > damned if we do and damned if we don't. > > John K Clark > > > > > > > >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: John Clark <[email protected]> >> To: everything-list <[email protected]> >> Sent: Tue, May 31, 2016 9:11 pm >> Subject: Re: Aristotle the Nitwit >> >> On Tue, May 31, 2016 , spudboy100 via Everything List < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> > >>> Being picky, what are electrons made out of? >> >> >> As far as we know electrons aren't made of anything, electrons are >> fundamental. >> >> >> >>> > >>> Are electrons arguably, material? >> >> >> Electrons have mass, electrical charge, and a >> magnetic moment >> , and all of those things are physical properties. So yes, electrons are >> material. >> >> > >>> Last year, a trio of physicists in Italy deduced that electrons would >>> last 5 quitillion times the current age of the univeres >> >> >> >> I've heard some speculate that the proton might be unstable over >> >> huge >> >> time ranges like that, but not the electron. For a electron to decay it >> would have to change into a charged particle that was lighter than it was, >> but the electron (and its antimatter counterpart the positron) is the >> lightest known charged particle, so there is nothing for the electron to >> decay into. >> >> A Muon is very similar >> >> to the electron >> >> except that it's 207 times as massive, so in about a millionth of a >> second it decays into a electron and 2 neutrinos, but the electron is the >> end of the line, there is no place for the electron to go so it sticks >> around. The same is true of the neutrino, like the electron it's stable, >> fundamental and isn't made of anything. >> >> >> John K Clark >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Everything List" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Everything List" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. 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