What is the quantum field made of?

Instead, what we interpret as “matter” is itself a quantum field. And these quantum fields, themselves, are made up of particles. The electromagnetic field? Made of particles called photons.

What are fields in quantum field theory?

Quantum fields are matter. In a quantum field theory, what we perceive as particles are excitations of the quantum field itself. The simplest “practical” quantum field theory is quantum electromagnetism. In it, two fields exist: the electromagnetic field and the “electron field”.

Is the universe made of fields?

Most physicists have concluded that the universe, all space, time, and matter, is made of fields. As far as we know these fields have no smallest, indivisible constituent. Another Greek, Democritus, however, suggested that matter was made of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms.

Are gravitons real?

There is no complete quantum field theory of gravitons due to an outstanding mathematical problem with renormalization in general relativity. In string theory, believed to be a consistent theory of quantum gravity, the graviton is a massless state of a fundamental string.

Can humans act as waves?

In fact, if we can define it, we can quantify just how “wave-like” a particle or set of particles is. Even an entire human being, under the right conditions, can act like a quantum wave. (Although, good luck with measuring that.) Here’s the science behind what that all means.

Why are there more particles than antiparticles in the universe?

The survival of even such a small fraction was enough to form all of the matter in our universe. At some point during this process, something else must have happened to cause the survival of more particles than antiparticles (we call this the particle-antiparticle asymmetry).

Can matter and energy be created from quantum fluctuations?

No. Matter can be created from gamma photons in pair production. Those gamma photons are not quantum fluctuations. And we know of no way to create energy. Has it ever been experimentally confirmed that matter and energy were created and are created by quantum fluctuations out of nothing all the time? No.

How was matter created in the beginning?

(PLEASE answer! This has been bothering me for YEARS!) In the beginning, there was not yet any matter. However, there was a lot of energy in the form of light, which comes in discrete packets called photons. When photons have enough energy, they can spontaneously decay into a particle and an antiparticle.

How does the Higgs field give other particles mass?

The Higgs field gives other particles mass by having a non-zero expectation value, not by fluctuating around that – in most states, there is some fluctuation, but that doesn’t mean anything special on its own. For more on the Higgs mechanism, see How does the Higgs mechanism work?.