What do Bosons travel through?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter jaketodd
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Bosons Travel
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of bosons and their interactions with each other and matter. Participants explore whether bosons travel through each other, through matter, or through some other medium, and the implications of quantum mechanics and general relativity on these interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Jake questions whether bosons travel through each other or through matter, seeking clarification on their interactions.
  • Some participants note that bosons, such as photons and pions, can occupy the same quantum state, leading to questions about whether different types of bosons can occupy the same space at the same energy.
  • There is a suggestion that the phrasing "same place in space" is misleading, and that "same quantum state" is a more accurate description.
  • One participant mentions that a bar of steel, which contains bosons, is unlikely to travel through much of anything, implying limitations on how bosons interact with matter.
  • Another participant introduces the concept of fields in general relativity, questioning what gauge bosons are moving through if not space or time, suggesting a deeper philosophical inquiry into the nature of bosons.
  • There is a reflection on the lack of a classical picture of bosons, referencing a paper that discusses the relational nature of space and matter.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of bosons and their interactions, with no consensus reached on the fundamental questions posed. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of how bosons travel and interact.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexities of quantum mechanics and general relativity, indicating that assumptions about space and time may influence their understanding of bosons. The discussion reflects ongoing uncertainties in the field.

jaketodd
Gold Member
Messages
507
Reaction score
21
Do Bosons travel just through each other, or through matter as well?

Thanks,

Jake
 
Physics news on Phys.org
a photon is a boson, a pion is a boson, helium is a boson... there are many bosons
 
ansgar said:
a photon is a boson, a pion is a boson, helium is a boson... there are many bosons

On Wikipedia it says "bosons with the same energy can occupy the same place in space"

So is it only the same type of boson at the same energy that can pass through each other?

Can bosons occupy the same place in space only with other ones of the same type and same energy? Or, can different types of bosons at the same energy (if that's possible) occupy the same location in space? If so, does that apply to all bosons?

Thanks,

Jake
 
same place in space is a bad phrasing since quantum particles have no definite position, what it should read is "same quantum state"

and different kind of bosons are of course different states...
 
ansgar said:
same place in space is a bad phrasing since quantum particles have no definite position, what it should read is "same quantum state"

and different kind of bosons are of course different states...

Thanks ansgar.
 
ansgar said:
a photon is a boson, a pion is a boson, helium is a boson... there are many bosons

As is an iron atom. A bar of steel is not likely to go traveling through much of anything.
 
With the advent of General Relativity, our understanding of space-time changed and we eliminated a background space-time. In essence, we ended up with fields on top of fields, if you will. The gravitational field is proposed to be a massless gauge-boson field no? If we have fields on top of fields, then what are these gauge bosons moving through? certainly not space or time! I think the question is pretty deep, and as of right now or maybe ever, unanswerable...
 
I would think bosons travel through space. What do you guys think?
 
jfy4 said:
With the advent of General Relativity, our understanding of space-time changed and we eliminated a background space-time. In essence, we ended up with fields on top of fields, if you will. The gravitational field is proposed to be a massless gauge-boson field no? If we have fields on top of fields, then what are these gauge bosons moving through? certainly not space or time! I think the question is pretty deep, and as of right now or maybe ever, unanswerable...



I agree that the question is deep. It is made even deeper by the fact that there is no classical picture of what bosons really are either. It reminds me of RUTA's paper on the Relational Block Universe where they rightfully stated - we don't really know what both space and matter are.
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Particles of matter as Bosons?
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
Undergrad Higgs Boson: What Gave Quarks & Leptons Mass?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
Undergrad Electroweak Bosons: Examining W1, W2, W3
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Undergrad Do Interacting Bosons with Spin 2 Exist for Gluon-like Charges?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
Undergrad What is the difference between charge and force carriers?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Two hydrogen atoms and Pauli's exclusion principle
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
4K
Undergrad Force carrier particle trajectories and warped spacetime
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Undergrad Why isn't the Goldstone boson on the Standard Model map?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Understanding Spin-2 Bosons & Graviton Theory of Gravity
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
7K
Undergrad The speed of forces, and applying relativity to force carriers
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K