So, what are the properties of space at the Planck length?

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The discussion centers on the elusive nature of "space," particularly at the Planck length. Participants express skepticism about defining space, questioning how properties like curvature and permeability can be discussed without a clear understanding of what space truly is. It is noted that these properties are often just numerical representations in physical equations derived from experimental results. However, some argue that the fundamental reality of space cannot be captured by any equation, suggesting it is an identity problem rather than a balancing one. The conversation highlights the ongoing philosophical and scientific challenges in comprehending the true essence of space.
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What are the properties of "space" at the Planck length?

http://physicsweb.org/article/world/17/3/7


As physicists celebrate 100 years of Lorentz symmetry, some theorists and experimentalists are working hard to spoil the party...

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By putting space in quotations, I assume you are doubtful of it's existence?
 
Gza said:
By putting space in quotations, I assume you are doubtful of it's existence?

:cry: :cry: :cry:

No. But the question remains, "what exactly is ...space?"
 
And so that question will remain, I believe. It has always bugged the hell out of me, how we can talk about its curvature, permeability, permativity and a bunch of its other properties without having the faintest clue of what IT is. Or maybe I have to wait till grad school. :smile:
 
Gza said:
how we can talk about its curvature, permeability, permativity and a bunch of its other properties without having the faintest clue of what IT is.

It is because all these properties are just numbers in some physical equatons. They are all the effects of some experiments. The equations just use numbers to get other numbers and if both sides of the equations agree then the equation is correct and proceeded to become a law of physics from theory.

But the reality of space will not be determined by experiments. There is no such equation, not because no one has found it yet but is the fact that it can never be found. It's an identity problem not a balancing problem between two distinct identities.
 

Thread 'Why measure the speed of light in one direction?'

It may be shown from the equations of electromagnetism, by James Clerk Maxwell in the 1860’s, that the speed of light in the vacuum of free space is related to electric permittivity (ϵ) and magnetic permeability (μ) by the equation: c=1/√( μ ϵ ) . This value is a constant for the vacuum of free space and is independent of the motion of the observer. It was this fact, in part, that led Albert Einstein to Special Relativity.
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