Page 17 - Winter 18-19

out of date, that has not changed for over 100 years. I am referring to the Newtonian model which was the way physical reality was understood until the beginning of quantum physics in 1895. The Newtonian world view is the “common sense” one that we all have — that the world is made of up of objects, made of matter. These objects are separated from each other, move independently, and are not influenced unless there is direct contact between two of them. If I am to contact my patient, I must approach her and put my hands on her body.
As said above, it is an obvious view. However, it is not a complete view. There is more to the understanding of reality than this view provides.
Let us explore together the findings of the science of physics over the last century as to the nature of matter. Physics is considered the most “real” or “physical” of the sciences as it deals with the physical world we all live in. This is a good place to turn to with the question “What is matter?”
What is Matter?
Over a hundred years ago, though much had been learned, there was no understanding of what the world was made up of. What were the fundamental building blocks? It was assumed they were tiny, but nonetheless must exist. As we know now physical reality is made of small objects indeed, which we call atoms. We also know there is not a huge number of them, about a hundred or so, of which a much smaller number are involved in the makeup of living organisms. We are considered carbon-based organisms with significant quantities of hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, etc.
It has been learned that it is the arrangement of these atoms into larger structures, into molecules, that give rise to the variety of the cells and tissues that we see. It is helpful to know that though there are the atoms, it is the
electrons which are responsible for all the expression of living functions. The atoms are necessary, as the underlying structure, but it is the electrons around the atoms that determine the molecular function. All the processes we study — digestion, regeneration, growth, excretion — all living processes — are the result of the electron arrangement presented by the atoms and their subsequent interaction.
So, what are electrons? This was the basic question of a century ago. The search for this understanding started with investigating both the nature of light and of electrons as they are similar phenomena. There were two views, or two questions, about light and electrons at that time. Regarding light, was it a stream of physical particles or a flow of energy? We see, on using a flashlight, that the light goes out in a sharp beam which one would expect if it was particles.
Just like throwing pebbles, we expect them to go forward in the direction thrown and not wander around in other directions. But some people thought it might be fuzzier than that because you can see where light hits a sharp edge there can be a blur of that light at the edge, what is called diffraction. There was this uncertainty about what it really was.
The most significant experiments to settle this were done by a doctor/physicist named Thomas Young in 1801.
He was the first to give description of astigmatism, blood pressure, and capillary attraction. He turned to this question in physics and set up a way to investigate this question as to what light is.
To understand this, we must first think of what a wave form is. A simple example is dropping a pebble into a body of water and watching the ripple spreading out. The wave then spreads out, is not localized. It also is observed as a
series of rises and troughs which we call ripples.
If you have two pebbles
dropped at the same
time, then as the waves
from each pebble drop
approach each other
there will be a com-
bination of the two —
what is called inter-
ference. If two high
places (top of wave) hit
each other they
combine to form a higher crest yet. If two low places (troughs) hit together, they make a deeper trough.
If a high point and a low point come together, the trough and the ripple cancel each other out and the water remains flat.
So, what Dr. Young did was shine light at a material that had a small slit in it. It was assumed that as the light went through the slit it would emerge on the other side in the form of a wave, just like happens with the pebble dropped into the pond. It would look something like this.
Thomas Young
Outgoing Circular Waves
Direction of Waves
15
Barrier
Continued on p16