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3 months ago in Philosophy of Physics By Sylvia

Is a field a thing, or is it just math?

We talk about the electron field, the Higgs field, the electromagnetic field. Are these actual stuff—or are they just mathematical conveniences?

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By Nirav Answered 2 months ago

In modern physics, fields are the fundamental ontology. Particles are excitations of fields; fields are not excitations of something else. They assign a value (energy, spin, charge) to every point in spacetime. They carry energy and momentum. They evolve according to deterministic laws. If that's not "real," what is? The old view was "matter is real, fields are how it interacts." The quantum view flipped it: fields are real. Particles are what they do.

 

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