Fundamental or Elementary Particles, declared in the Standard Model, are considered Point Particles.
Particles are categorized as Fermions or Bosons based on a spin characteristic. As per their definitions, bosons have a spin value of 1, while Fermions have a spin value of 1/2.
Fermions are known as mass carriers and are considered to be the basic building blocks of matter. In classical physics, which is observed in everyday life, matter is any substance that has mass and occupies space by having volume. This includes atoms and anything composed of them, but not other energy phenomena or waves, such as light or sound.
Fermions are divided into two categories: Leptons and Quarks. Leptons can be observed in their naked form, while Quarks are always constituents of other particles.
The fundamental assumption is that elementary particles are point particles. This means they don’t have any spatial extension, are zero-dimensional, and don’t occupy space. It’s challenging to comprehend how a particle with no spatial presence can possess properties that enable it to eventually form an observable object. Modern physics theories, such as String Theory, begin with the postulate that all physical entities have some form of spatial extension, no matter how small. However, if a particle has spatial extension and mass, the next question is: does it have substance, and how do we define it?
The fundamental particle is present, but we can only observe it through its various manifestations. It is not physically tangible; it is much like a pedestrian who leaves footprints but has left the scene.
The Dutch Paradigm posits that fundamental particles, conceived as point particles, have no spatial extension. Instead of referring to them as point particles, they are preferentially described as entities. An entity is a thing with distinct and independent existence, a thing-in-itself that must be differentiated from the properties it possesses.
It is as defined by Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant argued the sum of all objects, the empirical world, is a complex of appearances whose existence and connection occur only in our representations. Kant introduces the thing-in-itself as follows:
And we indeed, rightly considering objects of sense as mere appearances, confess thereby that they are based upon a thing in itself, though we know not this thing as it is in itself, but only know its appearances, viz., the way in which our senses are affected by this unknown something.
— Prolegomena, § 32
Now, if all elementary particles are point particles, it is challenging to visualize how combinations of these particles can result in physically tangible constructs.
In regular science, we identify a phenomenon called the Pauli Exclusion Principle.
Now, if all elementary particles are point particles, then it is difficult to visualize how combinations of these elementary particles can result in constructs that are physically tangible.
In regular science, we identify a phenomenon that is defined as the Pauli Exclusion Principle.
This principle describes that certain point particles are not allowed to occupy the same position in space. It governs the rules that allow us to stand on the floor rather than sink through it. This principle provides matter with the ability to become tangible.
It also allows for the macrocosmic behavior of matter, which we experience in our daily lives. We experience gravitation, and we know that we must exert a force to accelerate matter. Crashing to a sudden stop is painful.
The Standard model accepts that mass can be a property of an elementary point particle and apparently does not require a spatial extension.
Source Dreamtime
The idea that mass does not require spatial extension is difficult to comprehend. For particle physics, it is a convention to use as metrics for the property mass the equivalent of its energy content as per the famous equation E=mc² of Albert Einstein.
According to The Dutch Paradigm postulates, the fundamental particles in the physical universe are only photons and neutrinos, both defined as point particles
It is challenging to demonstrate and explain how these two elementary particles exhibit mass-like behavior in mutual interference, specifically gravitational and inertial effects on the world outside of their existence.
We know the photon as the prime source of light and electromagnetic radiation. A basic understanding of the properties and behavior of the neutrino is necessary and is described in subsequent chapters.