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Oceans and ocean waves are made up of water molecules. They are made of the same substance. But the same can't be said of elephants and running. Quantum fields and quantum waves are also made of the same 'substance', that's the point I've been trying to make

They're made of the same 'substance', which was my original point to the thread. The difference between the ocean and quantum fields, however, is that quantum fields and quantum waves are not made of any material substance at all. They are more of an ethereal substance - the carriers of...

That's a good analogy, which, if you think about it, also demonstrates that it's one and the same thing.

I've gathered that subatomic particles have a wave-particle nature, (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/debrog.html#c1). The wave aspect of a particle it is not like a physical wave, but rather a probability wave, (i.e. a wave of information about where the particle is probably located...

I've been reading about Quantum Field Theory. It strikes me that since the 1920's, physicists have changed the name "wave" to "field". I can't tell the difference between today's "fields" and what was described a "wave" in quantum theory in the early 1900's. So in quantum physics, is there a...

These are great answers. Thank you. I know where to come when I have questions about QM. Cheers

Subatomic particles can take the form of a wave or a particle. While in wave form, it is not like a physical wave, but rather a probability wave, (i.e. a wave of information about where the particle is probably located etc.) And while in particle form, a photon, for example, can knock electrons...

But this makes the definition of a particle even more blurred. To say that a subatomic particle is both a wave and a particle at the same time doesn't make a great deal of sense?

Good stuff. Thanks you :)

If each electron cloud repels other electrons and other atoms, then why can two or more atoms form molecules? Is it to do with negative and positive charges?

Thanks ZZ. That is sufficient for me. I'm just learning, and I'm interested in how the world works. But the technical language and complex maths formulas often go over my head

Thanks Zz. So is the answer primarily the force of the electron field that prevents objects like cars and billiard balls passing through each other?

If everything is made of atoms, and if atoms have so much empty space inside them - and if the building blocks of atoms are made up of wave-like particles that aren't solid (strictly speaking) - then why do cars crash and billiard balls bounce off each other, as opposed to passing through each...

The book is called "The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An overview of the New Physics" by Gary Zukav, published by Rider in 1979. Am I right saying that this kind of conclusion has been drawn from the implications of Schrodinger's wave equation? The wave function gives a description of the things that...

I like your answers, they are very informative. Thank you. I've just read the following in a book that a friend lent me. What are you opinions on it? "We can know either the momentum of a particle or its position, but not both. We must choose which of these two properties we want to determine...

Thanks all for your replies. Your answers make a lot of sense, it's much appreciated. To me, the following quote is valid and apt in the field of quantum theory. Would you agree, or can you see any flaws in the statement? : In 1856, inventor Nikola Tesla said, "If you want to find the secrets...

What is it then? I am off the ball concluding that it is "energy"? I can't help thinking of this field consisting of pure energy, or some kind of realm of information and mathematics?

Good stuff. I follow this so far. What do you mean by this? Could you expand please? Yes, I can follow that. Thanks. You're right, it is rather philosophical. But physics is under the umbrella of science, and one of science's aims is to understand the essential nature of all things. From...

A subatomic particle can either be a wave or a particle. When it is a particle, what actually is it? is it literally like a tiny physical ball rattling around? (If not, then what is it?) And when it is a wave, what is it? From my understanding, when a particle behaves like a wave, the...

To be more specific, pure energy exists out of force carriers like particles, (e.g. photons and gluons) But physicists often get too tied up with physics, in the sense that they believe that anything non-physical cannot exist. What about natural law, information and consciousness? That is...

Exactly. I'm satisfied with this answer because the author isn't implying that absolutely nothing exists inside the atom. Not at all. Law and information are an intrinsic part of the fabric of all physical systems. It is what patterns and bonds particles, atoms and molecules to give form to...

A vacuum isn't absolutely nothing. It has properties. This is something. You're talking about a "force", which isn't nothing. A force is energy. Me: "I assume it can't be absolutely nothing, otherwise everything would collapse into a chaotic muddle of random energy." Well you can't have...

Atoms make up all the material stuff around us, but most of an atom is empty space. The nucleus at the centre of an atom (99.95 percent of its mass) is orbited by tiny electrons (only 0.05 percent or less of the overall atomic mass). And as you've probably heard, an analogy is to think of the...

Many thanks for your feedback, it's much appreciated. That article about Einstein's famous quote about the moon is particularly interesting. To me, the following quote from the article sums up the intrinsic limitations of our understandings of how subatomic particles behave : "Because the...

Hi mfb, many thanks for reply. I just want to get some clarity on this, as it's puzzled me for some time. Physicist Pascual Jordan writes: "Observations not only disturb what has to be measured, they produce it. ... We compel [the electron] to assume a definite position. ... We ourselves...

I have read that when an electron is observed, it behaves differently to when it is not being observed. Could someone please expand on this, or indeed correct me. In what way does an observed particle behave differently to a particle that isn't being observed by somebody's consciousness?