What Lies Within the Electron?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the composition of electrons, specifically questioning what they are made of beyond the classifications of elementary particles or strings. Participants explore the nature of electrons in the context of fundamental physics, addressing both theoretical and conceptual aspects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the nature of electrons, explicitly asking for explanations that do not categorize them as elementary particles or strings.
  • Another participant emphasizes that electrons are considered fundamental particles without internal structure, possessing properties such as charge and spin.
  • A different participant argues that while electrons are classified as elementary particles, the inquiry into their composition could lead to an infinite regress of questions about the nature of more fundamental constituents.
  • Some participants suggest that even if a deeper structure were found, it would merely shift the question of composition to another level of particles.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that electrons are classified as elementary particles without internal structure, but there is disagreement regarding the implications of this classification and the nature of the inquiry into their composition.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects limitations in understanding the fundamental nature of particles and the assumptions underlying the classification of electrons as elementary. There are unresolved questions about the potential existence of deeper structures or constituents.

David Welsh
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What is an electron made of? And don't reply that it is an elementary particle or a string.
 
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So what kind of reply do you expect?
 
David Welsh said:
What is an electron made of? And don't reply that it is an elementary particle or a string.

Welcome to PhysicsForums, David!

Electrons are considered fundamental particles without an underlying structure. They have charge, spin, rest mass, and a few other things. You can check wiki for the basics. Is there something more specific you are looking to understand? Quantum particles (such as electrons) do not necessarily resemble objects in the classical world.
 
David Welsh said:
What is an electron made of? And don't reply that it is an elementary particle or a string.

"What is 2+2? And don't reply that it is 4..."

As far we know (and we've been working on this for better than a century now) an electron is an elementary particle, meaning that it has no internal structure and it's not made of anything. There are interactions that create new electrons, and there are interactions that destroy electrons, but there are no interactions that break an electron into smaller pieces that you could say it is "made of".

Even if we did find something that electrons were made of, sort of like how protons and neutrons are made of quarks, that would just push the problem down one level - we'd ask what that new something is made of, and we would rinse and repeat forever. Sooner or later we're going to come to some basic building blocks that cannot be further subdivided, and all available experimentation and theory says that the electron is one of them.
 
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