Dr Faustus of Modern Physics - Department of Speech, Music and ...

Chapter 50
QFT and Murderer-Victim
In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the
humble reasoning of a single individual. (Galileo)
Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is
to get rid of it. (Mark Twain)
Quantum Field Theory (QFT) describes the quantum mechanics of the
sub-atomic world as the result of interaction of certain particles through
forces carried by other particles:
• photons are the quanta of the electromagnetic field establishing electromagnetic
interaction,
• gravitons are the quanta of the gravitational field establishing gravitational
interaction.
Both photons and gravitons are hypothetical particles which have not been
observed. Below we shall argue that they cannot be observed because they
have no real role to play as force-carrying particles: The fields can take on
the role to carry the interactions and using Ockham’s razor particles can thus
be left out from the discussion.
The physical Gilbert Lewis, who coined the term photon, advocated a
bond between source and absorber like the bond between murderer an victim
which we will follow up on below:
• I am going to make the...assumption that an atom never emits light
except to another atom...it is absurd to think of light emitted by an
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