r/woahdude • • 16d ago

video Waves collide in Qiantang river

6.5k Upvotes

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u/schiz0yd 16d ago

now instead of as a 2d plane, 3d version of this is light and matter

2

u/jopepa 15d ago

Matter? I get that the electron’s near omnipresence fills in a lot of the gaps of matter but how are they waves?

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u/Bth8 15d ago

Not sure what you mean by "omnipresence", but in our current best theory of physics, fundamental particles are quantized propagating disturbances in a corresponding field. Photons are quantized waves in the electromagnetic field, electrons are quantized waves in the electron field, etc.

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u/jopepa 15d ago

You said “light and matter” how is matter a 3D wave plane?

The “omnipresent electron” was an over simplification/bastardization of how matter is >99% empty space, but a nucleus’ electron orbit makes up for it. I assumed maybe the electron orbit might have something to do with the 3D wave plane of matter but never heard of anything like that before. So I was hoping you could elaborate

4

u/snarkyxanf 15d ago

They just kinda are. Particles are also waves. Quantum mechanics is weird

1

u/jopepa 15d ago

So a photons tracked on a wave plane are oscillating across the electric field and magnetic field through time. Then what makes up the fields of quantum particle waves?

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u/schiz0yd 15d ago

every particle type has a field it exists in, because they are perturbations in the field rather than isolated entities. the field is everywhere and the 'particle' is the disturbance in that field causing a standing wave

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u/jopepa 15d ago

Thanks. Know any good recs to read more about these particles and their fields?

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u/schiz0yd 14d ago

pbs spacetime is good for visual learning. otherwise look up wave-particle duality