Do all forms of energy behave like light?

In summary, Stephen Hawking proposed that energy and space were the only ingredients necessary to create the universe. When asked if all forms of energy behave like light, the answer is no, as there are various types of energy such as kinetic and potential. However, all forms of electromagnetic energy do travel at the speed of light in a vacuum. The possibility of all forms of matter being produced from electromagnetic energy was also discussed, with the consensus being that it is possible but may require additional materials. Additionally, it was noted that all forms of electromagnetic energy have both particle and wave behavior. Overall, there is still debate on the specific ingredients necessary to create the universe, with some suggesting that electromagnetic energy and space may be enough.
  • #1
rmclaug
6
0
The idea of this question came from Stephen Hawking on a show on the Discovery channel called "Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe". Stephen Hawking said that energy and space were the only ingredients necessary to create the universe:
  1. Do all forms of energy behave like light?
  2. Can all forms of matter be produced from energy? (ie. e=mc^2)
  3. Can energy form all the things in the universe?
Thanks, Ron
 
Last edited:
Science news on Phys.org
  • #2
1. No, light is only one type of energy (radiative energy). There's also kinetic energy, potential energy, etc. I will note though that the question is very vague. What do you mean by "behave like light"?

2. Essentially yes, the Rules of Quantum Mechanics allows particle pair production from photons, for example. And you can get all sorts of results when you collide two particle beams together. That's what they do at those particle accelerator experiments.

3. This question is too vague. I don't know what you mean by it.
 
  • #3
Thank you for the reply. Let me rephrase it:

Again, the idea for this question from Stephen Hawking on the Discovery channel show "Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe":
  1. Do all forms of electromagnetic energy behave like light?
  2. Can all forms of matter be produced from electromagnetic energy? (ie. e=mc^2)
  3. Can energy form all the things in the universe? Can electromagnetic energy form all the things in the universe except space?

Thanks, Ron
 
Last edited:
  • #4
Also, when I say behave like light I mean does it have the speed of light(in a vacuum)? Furthermore does it behave like light as both a wave and particle
 
  • #5
All forms of electromagnetic energy travel at the same speed in vacuo: c.

However they interact with materials in different ways: radio, microwave, infrared, UV, x-ray, etc.

E=mc^2 is a universal law. The trick is to organize the situation required. It is fairly easy to make electrons and positrons, but becomes increasingly difficult to form larger particles. And yet, they have all been created, but not directly from light-on-light experiments. Their is always another material present.

And yes, all EM waves have both particle and wave behavior, though the particle behavior is more obvious for more energetic waves (x-rays, gamma), and much less so for the longer wave lengths (radio).
 
  • #6
1) There's still potential energy of the EM fields themselves, e.g. between capacitor plates. The energy is just stored there, there's no real "speed" associated with it. So I guess I would have to say "no". However, if you are asking if all electromagnetic WAVES travel at the speed of light, then yes, in vacuum they do.

2+3) It is beyond my expertise to answer thoroughly this question. I'm not sure if all the elementary particles can be created from photon+photon interactions.
 
  • #7
What about when a non-charged particle (e.g. neutrino) is moving? It certainly has kinetic energy. How do you propose to define that kinetic energy as an electromagnetic radiation?
 
  • #9
I think Ultrafast answered pretty well. But I'll add what I would say anyway.
rmclaug said:
Thank you for the reply. Let me rephrase it:

Do all forms of electromagnetic energy behave like light?
Yes, definitely yes. In fact, certain animals can see u.v. electromagnetic radiation. So the category of "light" as a subset of EM radiation is a purely artificial category. By that, I mean we humans only see light, because of the specific receptors in our eyes. But this is the only way that "light" is special, as compared to EM radiation of other wavelengths. The only 'fundamental' difference is the wavelength of the EM radiation.

rmclaug said:
Can all forms of matter be produced from electromagnetic energy? (ie. e=mc^2)
yeah. In the standard model of particle physics, there is matter and antimatter. And we have matter - antimatter = conserved. Therefore, as long as we make both antimatter and matter, we could use EM energy to make any kind of matter. Also, as Ultrafast says, it is more unlikely that a photon-photon collision will create particles with high mass, but it is still possible, as long as your photons have enough energy.

edit: the Feynman diagram might need to have several vertices, but this is still one 'collision' really.
 
  • #10
Thank you for all the replies,

One of the ideas expressed by Stephen Hawking is that the universe could be entirely made from just two ingredients:energy and space.1 I am just trying to understand the truthfulness to this, perhaps some finer points of this, and its implication to the foundations of the universe.

Reference:
1. Hawking, Stephen. "Did God Create the Universe." Curiosity. Discovery. 7 Aug. 2011. Television.
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Thanks again for all the replies.

So, could one be more specific and say that the only two ingredients necessary to make a universe are electromagnetic energy and space and still be correct? This being more specific by adding electromagnetic before energy to Hawking's assertion that the only two ingredients needed to make a universe are energy and space.
 
Last edited:
  • #12
BruceW said:
I think Ultrafast answered pretty well. But I'll add what I would say anyway.

Yes, definitely yes. In fact, certain animals can see u.v. electromagnetic radiation. So the category of "light" as a subset of EM radiation is a purely artificial category. By that, I mean we humans only see light, because of the specific receptors in our eyes. But this is the only way that "light" is special, as compared to EM radiation of other wavelengths. The only 'fundamental' difference is the wavelength of the EM radiation.


yeah. In the standard model of particle physics, there is matter and antimatter. And we have matter - antimatter = conserved. Therefore, as long as we make both antimatter and matter, we could use EM energy to make any kind of matter. Also, as Ultrafast says, it is more unlikely that a photon-photon collision will create particles with high mass, but it is still possible, as long as your photons have enough energy.

edit: the Feynman diagram might need to have several vertices, but this is still one 'collision' really.

Thank you and thank everyone else for their input too. A lot of interesting stuff here from everyone.

I am sorry I must have read over the latter part of this answer yesterday where you talked about creating all kinds of matter. I believe that you are saying that EM energy could create any kind of matter. So from this I am taking it that EM energy could used to create all the matter in the universe and with the addition of space create the universe itself and there would be nothing amiss?
 
  • #13
rmclaug said:
Thank you and thank everyone else for their input too. A lot of interesting stuff here from everyone.

I am sorry I must have read over the latter part of this answer yesterday where you talked about creating all kinds of matter. I believe that you are saying that EM energy could create any kind of matter. So from this I am taking it that EM energy could used to create all the matter in the universe and with the addition of space create the universe itself and there would be nothing amiss?
(I think) you're talking about the universe as being the "ultimate free lunch" right? Well, I don't know a lot of cosmology. But as far as I understand it, the standard theory is that the early universe contained quantum fluctuations, and inflation stretched out these fluctuations. So (I think) we don't even need EM energy. We just need some quantum fluctuations, and space.
 

1. How is light different from other forms of energy?

Light is a type of electromagnetic energy, which means it is made up of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. Unlike other forms of energy, such as heat or sound, light can travel through a vacuum and does not require a medium to propagate.

2. Can all forms of energy travel at the speed of light?

No, not all forms of energy can travel at the speed of light. Light is unique in that it travels at a constant speed of approximately 3x10^8 meters per second in a vacuum. Other forms of energy, such as sound or heat, travel at much slower speeds.

3. Do all forms of energy exhibit wave-like properties like light does?

No, not all forms of energy exhibit wave-like properties like light. Wave-like behavior is a characteristic of electromagnetic energy, which includes light, but not all forms of energy. For example, particles like electrons do not exhibit wave-like behavior.

4. Can all forms of energy be converted into light?

Yes, all forms of energy can potentially be converted into light. This is because light is a form of energy and energy can be transformed from one form to another. For example, when an object is heated, it emits thermal energy in the form of light.

5. Are all forms of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum like light?

No, not all forms of energy are on the electromagnetic spectrum like light. The electromagnetic spectrum includes a wide range of energy, from radio waves to gamma rays, but there are other forms of energy, such as gravitational or nuclear energy, that are not part of the spectrum.

Similar threads

  • Special and General Relativity
Replies
11
Views
559
  • Cosmology
Replies
11
Views
1K
Replies
19
Views
4K
Replies
17
Views
2K
Replies
13
Views
1K
Replies
9
Views
1K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
11
Views
1K
  • General Discussion
Replies
5
Views
840
  • Special and General Relativity
Replies
24
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
6
Views
3K
Back
Top