Fields & Energy: Path of Least Resistance?

[mee]

Could there be a field that is capable of doing no work, which makes it not energy, which is what interferes with itself in the double slit experiment? Perhaps particles travel along the path of least resistance in this field? Okay so I'm a novice already... :)

 

[speeding electron]

Maybe you could make yourself a little clearer? Your idea that particles travel through the field via the paths of least resistance seems to be at variance with your idea that it is the field which interacts with itself. You might consider the particles disturbances of the field, and I believe this has already been done, but I know little to nothing about the theory (QFT anyone?).
The trouble is, according to standard theory, the interference is caused by the particle taking every possible path, and therefore you can't really talk about the particle taking a particular path at the same time as it interfering with anything (although I believe complementarity has been thrown into some doubt as of late), but wait for a more authoritative response before making any conclusions.

 

[marlon]

Could there be a field that is capable of doing no work, which makes it not energy, which is what interferes with itself in the double slit experiment? Perhaps particles travel along the path of least resistance in this field? Okay so I'm a novice already... :)

A field can always interact with itself through self-energy-interactions. I mean that a particle (quantum of the field) is always surrounded by a cloud of virtual particles. With these particles virtual elektron and positron-pairs can be constructed. Remember that in QFT the principle of energy-conservation can be offended for a very short time because of the uncertainty between energy and time plus the uncertainty between position and momentum (kinetic energy). The vacuum or groundstate in QFT is not really empty but is constructed out of these virtual particles. Think of the famous Casimir-effect.


the point i am trying to make is
If there is not energy ?? then what is there ?

 

[mee]

A field can always interact with itself through self-energy-interactions. I mean that a particle (quantum of the field) is always surrounded by a cloud of virtual particles. With these particles virtual elektron and positron-pairs can be constructed. Remember that in QFT the principle of energy-conservation can be offended for a very short time because of the uncertainty between energy and time plus the uncertainty between position and momentum (kinetic energy). The vacuum or groundstate in QFT is not really empty but is constructed out of these virtual particles. Think of the famous Casimir-effect.


the point i am trying to make is
If there is not energy ?? then what is there ?

I thought it might be a property of the geometry of space itself, perhaps this would be energy, its just that since this energy (zero-point energy?) has never been detected, it is just a property of space. Thanks for being so patient with my musings. :)

 

[mee]

Perhaps this zero point energy hasn't been detected because it is everywhere and thus what appears as a ground state of zero is actually higher than that but can't be measured as that because it is virtually the same everywhere and can't be escaped. My uneducated musing.