Matter - Wikipedia
Matter - Wikipedia
Usually atoms can be imagined as a nucleus of protons and neutrons, and a surrounding "cloud" of
orbiting electrons which "take up space".[4][5] However, this is only somewhat correct because
subatomic particles and their properties are governed by their quantum nature, which means they
do not act as everyday objects appear to act – they can act like waves as well as particles, and they
do not have well-defined sizes or positions. In the Standard Model of particle physics, matter is not
a fundamental concept because the elementary constituents of atoms are quantum entities which
do not have an inherent "size" or "volume" in any everyday sense of the word. Due to the exclusion
principle and other fundamental interactions, some "point particles" known as fermions (quarks,
leptons), and many composites and atoms, are effectively forced to keep a distance from other
particles under everyday conditions; this creates the property of matter which appears to us as
matter taking up space.
For much of the history of the natural sciences, people have contemplated the exact nature of
matter. The idea that matter was built of discrete building blocks, the so-called particulate theory
of matter, appeared in both ancient Greece and ancient India.[6] Early philosophers who proposed
the particulate theory of matter include the ancient Indian philosopher Kanada (c. 6th–century
BCE or after),[7] pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Leucippus (~490 BCE), and pre-Socratic Greek
philosopher Democritus (~470–380 BCE).[8]
Related concepts
While there are different views on what should be considered matter, the mass of a substance has
exact scientific definitions. Another difference is that matter has an "opposite" called antimatter,
but mass has no opposite—there is no such thing as "anti-mass" or negative mass, so far as is
known, although scientists do discuss the concept. Antimatter has the same (i.e. positive) mass
property as its normal matter counterpart.
Different fields of science use the term matter in different, and sometimes incompatible, ways.
Some of these ways are based on loose historical meanings from a time when there was no reason
to distinguish mass from simply a quantity of matter. As such, there is no single universally agreed
scientific meaning of the word "matter". Scientifically, the term "mass" is well-defined, but
"matter" can be defined in several ways. Sometimes in the field of physics "matter" is simply
equated with particles that exhibit rest mass (i.e., that cannot travel at the speed of light), such as
quarks and leptons. However, in both physics and chemistry, matter exhibits both wave-like and
particle-like properties, the so-called wave–particle duality.[10][11][12]
Pure water is an example of a chemical substance, with a constant composition of two hydrogen
atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom (i.e. H2O). The atomic ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is always
2:1 in every molecule of water. Pure water will tend to boil near 100 °C (212 °F), an example of one
of the characteristic properties that define it. Other notable chemical substances include diamond
(a form of the element carbon), table salt (NaCl; an ionic compound), and refined sugar
(C12H22O11; an organic compound).
Definition
Based on atoms
A definition of "matter" based on its physical and chemical structure is: matter is made up of
atoms.[17] Such atomic matter is also sometimes termed ordinary matter. As an example,
deoxyribonucleic acid molecules (DNA) are matter under this definition because they are made of
atoms. This definition can be extended to include charged atoms and molecules, so as to include
plasmas (gases of ions) and electrolytes (ionic solutions), which are not obviously included in the
atoms definition. Alternatively, one can adopt the protons, neutrons, and electrons definition.
This definition of ordinary matter is more subtle than it first appears. All the particles that make
up ordinary matter (leptons and quarks) are elementary fermions, while all the force carriers are
elementary bosons.[23] The W and Z bosons that mediate the weak force are not made of quarks or
leptons, and so are not ordinary matter, even if they have mass.[24] In other words, mass is not
something that is exclusive to ordinary matter.
The quark–lepton definition of ordinary matter, however, identifies not only the elementary
building blocks of matter, but also includes composites made from the constituents (atoms and
molecules, for example). Such composites contain an interaction energy that holds the constituents
together, and may constitute the bulk of the mass of the composite. As an example, to a great
extent, the mass of an atom is simply the sum of the masses of its constituent protons, neutrons
and electrons. However, digging deeper, the protons and neutrons are made up of quarks bound
together by gluon fields (see dynamics of quantum chromodynamics) and these gluon fields
contribute significantly to the mass of hadrons.[25] In other words, most of what composes the
"mass" of ordinary matter is due to the binding energy of quarks within protons and neutrons.[26]
For example, the sum of the mass of the three quarks in a nucleon is approximately 12.5 MeV/c2,
which is low compared to the mass of a nucleon (approximately 938 MeV/c2).[27][28] The bottom
line is that most of the mass of everyday objects comes from the interaction energy of its
elementary components.
The Standard Model groups matter particles into three generations, where each generation
consists of two quarks and two leptons. The first generation is the up and down quarks, the
electron and the electron neutrino; the second includes the charm and strange quarks, the muon
and the muon neutrino; the third generation consists of the top and bottom quarks and the tau
and tau neutrino.[29] The most natural explanation for this would be that quarks and leptons of
higher generations are excited states of the first generations. If this turns out to be the case, it
would imply that quarks and leptons are composite particles, rather than elementary particles.[30]
This quark–lepton definition of matter also leads to what can be described as "conservation of
(net) matter" laws—discussed later below. Alternatively, one could return to the mass–volume–
space concept of matter, leading to the next definition, in which antimatter becomes included as a
subclass of matter.
The observation that matter occupies space goes back to antiquity. However, an explanation for
why matter occupies space is recent, and is argued to be a result of the phenomenon described in
the Pauli exclusion principle,[33][34] which applies to fermions. Two particular examples where the
exclusion principle clearly relates matter to the occupation of space are white dwarf stars and
neutron stars, discussed further below.
Thus, matter can be defined as everything composed of elementary fermions. Although we do not
encounter them in everyday life, antiquarks (such as the antiproton) and antileptons (such as the
positron) are the antiparticles of the quark and the lepton, are elementary fermions as well, and
have essentially the same properties as quarks and leptons, including the applicability of the Pauli
exclusion principle which can be said to prevent two particles from being in the same place at the
same time (in the same state), i.e. makes each particle "take up space". This particular definition
leads to matter being defined to include anything made of these antimatter particles as well as the
ordinary quark and lepton, and thus also anything made of mesons, which are unstable particles
made up of a quark and an antiquark.
Structure
In particle physics, fermions are particles that obey Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions can be
elementary, like the electron—or composite, like the proton and neutron. In the Standard Model,
there are two types of elementary fermions: quarks and leptons, which are discussed next.
Quarks
Quarks are massive particles of spin-1⁄2, implying that they are fermions. They carry an electric
charge of −1⁄3 e (down-type quarks) or +2⁄3 e (up-type quarks). For comparison, an electron has a
charge of −1 e. They also carry colour charge, which is the equivalent of the electric charge for the
strong interaction. Quarks also undergo radioactive decay, meaning that they are subject to the
weak interaction.
Quark properties[37]
electric mass mass comparable antiparticle
name symbol spin charge antiparticle
(e) (MeV/c2) to symbol
up-type quarks
down-type quarks
Baryonic
Baryons are strongly interacting fermions, and so are subject to
Fermi–Dirac statistics. Amongst the baryons are the protons and
neutrons, which occur in atomic nuclei, but many other unstable
baryons exist as well. The term baryon usually refers to triquarks—
particles made of three quarks. Also, "exotic" baryons made of four
quarks and one antiquark are known as pentaquarks, but their
existence is not generally accepted.
The great majority of ordinary matter in the universe is unseen, since visible stars and gas inside
galaxies and clusters account for less than 10 per cent of the ordinary matter contribution to the
mass–energy density of the universe.[39]
Hadronic
Hadronic matter can refer to 'ordinary' baryonic matter, made from hadrons (baryons and
mesons), or quark matter (a generalisation of atomic nuclei), i.e. the 'low' temperature QCD
matter.[40] It includes degenerate matter and the result of high energy heavy nuclei collisions.[41]
Degenerate
In physics, degenerate matter refers to the ground state of a gas of fermions at a temperature near
absolute zero.[42] The Pauli exclusion principle requires that only two fermions can occupy a
quantum state, one spin-up and the other spin-down. Hence, at zero temperature, the fermions fill
up sufficient levels to accommodate all the available fermions—and in the case of many fermions,
the maximum kinetic energy (called the Fermi energy) and the pressure of the gas becomes very
large, and depends on the number of fermions rather than the temperature, unlike normal states of
matter.
Degenerate matter is thought to occur during the evolution of heavy stars.[43] The demonstration
by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar that white dwarf stars have a maximum allowed mass because
of the exclusion principle caused a revolution in the theory of star evolution.[44]
Degenerate matter includes the part of the universe that is made up of neutron stars and white
dwarfs.
Strange
Strange matter is a particular form of quark matter, usually thought of as a liquid of up, down, and
strange quarks. It is contrasted with nuclear matter, which is a liquid of neutrons and protons
(which themselves are built out of up and down quarks), and with non-strange quark matter,
which is a quark liquid that contains only up and down quarks. At high enough density, strange
matter is expected to be color superconducting. Strange matter is hypothesized to occur in the core
of neutron stars, or, more speculatively, as isolated droplets that may vary in size from
femtometers (strangelets) to kilometers (quark stars).
Two meanings
In particle physics and astrophysics, the term is used in two ways, one broader and the other more
specific.
1. The broader meaning is just quark matter that contains three flavors of quarks: up, down, and
strange. In this definition, there is a critical pressure and an associated critical density, and
when nuclear matter (made of protons and neutrons) is compressed beyond this density, the
protons and neutrons dissociate into quarks, yielding quark matter (probably strange matter).
2. The narrower meaning is quark matter that is more stable than nuclear matter. The idea that
this could happen is the "strange matter hypothesis" of Bodmer[45] and Witten.[46] In this
definition, the critical pressure is zero: the true ground state of matter is always quark matter.
The nuclei that we see in the matter around us, which are droplets of nuclear matter, are
actually metastable, and given enough time (or the right external stimulus) would decay into
droplets of strange matter, i.e. strangelets.
Leptons
Leptons are particles of spin-1⁄2, meaning that they are fermions. They carry an electric charge of
−1 e (charged leptons) or 0 e (neutrinos). Unlike quarks, leptons do not carry colour charge,
meaning that they do not experience the strong interaction. Leptons also undergo radioactive
decay, meaning that they are subject to the weak interaction. Leptons are massive particles,
therefore are subject to gravity.
Lepton properties
electric
mass mass antiparticle
name symbol spin charge antiparticle
(e) (MeV/c2) comparable to symbol
charged leptons[47]
− +
electron e 1⁄2 −1 0.5110 1 electron antielectron e
− +
muon μ 1⁄2 −1 105.7 ~ 200 electrons antimuon μ
− +
tau τ 1⁄2 −1 1,777 ~ 2 protons antitau τ
neutrinos[48]
electron < electron
νe 1⁄2 0 < 1⁄1000 electron νe
neutrino 0.000460 antineutrino
muon muon
νμ 1⁄2 0 < 0.19 < 1⁄2 electron νμ
neutrino antineutrino
Phases
In bulk, matter can exist in several different forms, or
states of aggregation, known as phases,[49] depending
on ambient pressure, temperature and volume.[50] A
phase is a form of matter that has a relatively uniform
chemical composition and physical properties (such as
density, specific heat, refractive index, and so forth).
These phases include the three familiar ones (solids,
liquids, and gases), as well as more exotic states of
matter (such as plasmas, superfluids, supersolids,
Bose–Einstein condensates, ...). A fluid may be a
liquid, gas or plasma. There are also paramagnetic and
ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. As
conditions change, matter may change from one phase Phase diagram for a typical substance at a
fixed volume
into another. These phenomena are called phase
transitions and are studied in the field of
thermodynamics. In nanomaterials, the vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume results in
matter that can exhibit properties entirely different from those of bulk material, and not well
described by any bulk phase (see nanomaterials for more details).
Phases are sometimes called states of matter, but this term can lead to confusion with
thermodynamic states. For example, two gases maintained at different pressures are in different
thermodynamic states (different pressures), but in the same phase (both are gases).
Antimatter
Antimatter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute ordinary matter.
If a particle and its antiparticle come into contact with each other, the two annihilate; that is, they
may both be converted into other particles with equal energy in accordance with Albert Einstein's
equation E = mc2. These new particles may be high-energy photons (gamma rays) or other
particle–antiparticle pairs. The resulting particles are endowed with an amount of kinetic energy
equal to the difference between the rest mass of the products of the annihilation and the rest mass
of the original particle–antiparticle pair, which is often quite large. Depending on which definition
of "matter" is adopted, antimatter can be said to be a particular subclass of matter, or the opposite
of matter.
Antimatter is not found naturally on Earth, except very briefly and in vanishingly small quantities
(as the result of radioactive decay, lightning or cosmic rays). This is because antimatter that came
to exist on Earth outside the confines of a suitable physics laboratory would almost instantly meet
the ordinary matter that Earth is made of, and be annihilated. Antiparticles and some stable
antimatter (such as antihydrogen) can be made in tiny amounts, but not in enough quantity to do
more than test a few of its theoretical properties.
There is considerable speculation both in science and science fiction as to why the observable
universe is apparently almost entirely matter (in the sense of quarks and leptons but not
antiquarks or antileptons), and whether other places are almost entirely antimatter (antiquarks
and antileptons) instead. In the early universe, it is thought that matter and antimatter were
equally represented, and the disappearance of antimatter requires an asymmetry in physical laws
called CP (charge–parity) symmetry violation, which can be obtained from the Standard Model,[51]
but at this time the apparent asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of
the great unsolved problems in physics. Possible processes by which it came about are explored in
more detail under baryogenesis.
Formally, antimatter particles can be defined by their negative baryon number or lepton number,
while "normal" (non-antimatter) matter particles have positive baryon or lepton number.[52] These
two classes of particles are the antiparticle partners of one another.
In October 2017, scientists reported further evidence that matter and antimatter, equally produced
at the Big Bang, are identical, should completely annihilate each other and, as a result, the universe
should not exist.[53] This implies that there must be something, as yet unknown to scientists, that
either stopped the complete mutual destruction of matter and antimatter in the early forming
universe, or that gave rise to an imbalance between the two forms.
Conservation
Two quantities that can define an amount of matter in the quark–lepton sense (and antimatter in
an antiquark–antilepton sense), baryon number and lepton number, are conserved in the Standard
Model. A baryon such as the proton or neutron has a baryon number of one, and a quark, because
there are three in a baryon, is given a baryon number of 1/3. So the net amount of matter, as
measured by the number of quarks (minus the number of antiquarks, which each have a baryon
number of −1/3), which is proportional to baryon number, and number of leptons (minus
antileptons), which is called the lepton number, is practically impossible to change in any process.
Even in a nuclear bomb, none of the baryons (protons and neutrons of which the atomic nuclei are
composed) are destroyed—there are as many baryons after as before the reaction, so none of these
matter particles are actually destroyed and none are even converted to non-matter particles (like
photons of light or radiation). Instead, nuclear (and perhaps chromodynamic) binding energy is
released, as these baryons become bound into mid-size nuclei having less energy (and,
equivalently, less mass) per nucleon compared to the original small (hydrogen) and large
(plutonium etc.) nuclei. Even in electron–positron annihilation, there is no net matter being
destroyed, because there was zero net matter (zero total lepton number and baryon number) to
begin with before the annihilation—one lepton minus one antilepton equals zero net lepton
number—and this net amount matter does not change as it simply remains zero after the
annihilation.[54]
In short, matter, as defined in physics, refers to baryons and leptons. The amount of matter is
defined in terms of baryon and lepton number. Baryons and leptons can be created, but their
creation is accompanied by antibaryons or antileptons; and they can be destroyed by annihilating
them with antibaryons or antileptons. Since antibaryons/antileptons have negative baryon/lepton
numbers, the overall baryon/lepton numbers are not changed, so matter is conserved. However,
baryons/leptons and antibaryons/antileptons all have positive mass, so the total amount of mass is
not conserved. Further, outside of natural or artificial nuclear reactions, there is almost no
antimatter generally available in the universe (see baryon asymmetry and leptogenesis), so particle
annihilation is rare in normal circumstances.
Dark
Ordinary matter, in the quarks and leptons definition, constitutes about 4% of the energy of the
observable universe. The remaining energy is theorized to be due to exotic forms, of which 23% is
dark matter[56][57] and 73% is dark energy.[58][59]
In astrophysics and cosmology, dark matter is matter of unknown composition that does not emit
or reflect enough electromagnetic radiation to be observed directly, but whose presence can be
inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter.[63][64] Observational evidence of the early
universe and the Big Bang theory require that this matter have energy and mass, but not be
composed of ordinary baryons (protons and neutrons). The commonly accepted view is that most
of the dark matter is non-baryonic in nature.[63] As such, it is composed of particles as yet
unobserved in the laboratory. Perhaps they are supersymmetric particles,[65] which are not
Standard Model particles but relics formed at very high energies in the early phase of the universe
and still floating about.[63]
Energy
In cosmology, dark energy is the name given to the source of the repelling influence that is
accelerating the rate of expansion of the universe. Its precise nature is currently a mystery,
although its effects can reasonably be modeled by assigning matter-like properties such as energy
density and pressure to the vacuum itself.[66][67]
Fully 70% of the matter density in the universe appears to be in the form of dark energy.
Twenty-six percent is dark matter. Only 4% is ordinary matter. So less than 1 part in 20 is
made out of matter we have observed experimentally or described in the standard model
of particle physics. Of the other 96%, apart from the
properties just mentioned, we know absolutely nothing.
Exotic
Exotic matter is a concept of particle physics, which may include
dark matter and dark energy but goes further to include any
hypothetical material that violates one or more of the properties
Pie chart showing the
of known forms of matter. Some such materials might possess
fractions of energy in the
hypothetical properties like negative mass.
universe contributed by
different sources. Ordinary
matter is divided into
Historical and philosophical study luminous matter (the stars
and luminous gases and
0.005% radiation) and
Classical antiquity (c. 600 BCE–c. 322 BCE) nonluminous matter
In ancient India, the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain philosophical (intergalactic gas and
traditions each posited that matter was made of atoms about 0.1% neutrinos and
(paramanu, pudgala) that were "eternal, indestructible, without 0.04% supermassive black
parts, and innumerable" and which associated or dissociated to holes). Ordinary matter is
form more complex matter according to the laws of nature.[6] uncommon. Modeled after
They coupled their ideas of soul, or lack thereof, into their theory Ostriker and Steinhardt.[55]
of matter. The strongest developers and defenders of this theory For more information, see
were the Nyaya-Vaisheshika school, with the ideas of the Indian NASA (https://map.gsfc.nas
philosopher Kanada being the most followed.[6][7] Buddhist a.gov/news/index.html).
philosophers also developed these ideas in late 1st-millennium
Dark energy (73%)
CE, ideas that were similar to the Vaisheshika school, but ones
Dark matter (23%)
that did not include any soul or conscience.[6] Jain philosophers
Non-luminous matter (3.6%)
included the soul (jiva), adding qualities such as taste, smell,
Luminous matter (0.4%)
touch, and color to each atom.[68] They extended the ideas found
in early literature of the Hindus and Buddhists by adding that
atoms are either humid or dry, and this quality cements matter. They also proposed the possibility
that atoms combine because of the attraction of opposites, and the soul attaches to these atoms,
transforms with karma residue, and transmigrates with each rebirth.[6]
In ancient Greece, pre-Socratic philosophers speculated the underlying nature of the visible world.
Thales (c. 624 BCE–c. 546 BCE) regarded water as the fundamental material of the world.
Anaximander (c. 610 BCE–c. 546 BCE) posited that the basic material was wholly characterless or
limitless: the Infinite (apeiron). Anaximenes (flourished 585 BCE, d. 528 BCE) posited that the
basic stuff was pneuma or air. Heraclitus (c. 535 BCE–c. 475 BCE) seems to say the basic element
is fire, though perhaps he means that all is change. Empedocles (c. 490–430 BCE) spoke of four
elements of which everything was made: earth, water, air, and fire.[69] Meanwhile, Parmenides
argued that change does not exist, and Democritus argued that everything is composed of
minuscule, inert bodies of all shapes called atoms, a philosophy called atomism. All of these
notions had deep philosophical problems.[70]
Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE) was the first to put the
conception on a sound philosophical basis, which he
did in his natural philosophy, especially in Physics
book I.[71] He adopted as reasonable suppositions the
four Empedoclean elements, but added a fifth, aether.
Nevertheless, these elements are not basic in
Aristotle's mind. Rather they, like everything else in
the visible world, are composed of the basic principles
matter and form.
For my definition of matter is just this—the Galaxy rotation curve for the Milky Way.
Vertical axis is speed of rotation about the
primary substratum of each thing, from
galactic center. Horizontal axis is distance
which it comes to be without qualification,
from the galactic center. The sun is marked
and which persists in the result. with a yellow ball. The observed curve of
speed of rotation is blue. The predicted curve
— Aristotle, Physics I:9:192a32 based upon stellar mass and gas in the Milky
Way is red. The difference is due to dark
The word Aristotle uses for matter, ὕλη (hyle or hule), matter or perhaps a modification of the law of
can be literally translated as wood or timber, that is, gravity.[60][61][62] Scatter in observations is
"raw material" for building. [72] Indeed, Aristotle's indicated roughly by gray bars.
conception of matter is intrinsically linked to
something being made or composed. In other words,
in contrast to the early modern conception of matter as simply occupying space, matter for
Aristotle is definitionally linked to process or change: matter is what underlies a change of
substance. For example, a horse eats grass: the horse changes the grass into itself; the grass as such
does not persist in the horse, but some aspect of it—its matter—does. The matter is not specifically
described (e.g., as atoms), but consists of whatever persists in the change of substance from grass
to horse. Matter in this understanding does not exist independently (i.e., as a substance), but exists
interdependently (i.e., as a "principle") with form and only insofar as it underlies change. It can be
helpful to conceive of the relationship of matter and form as very similar to that between parts and
whole. For Aristotle, matter as such can only receive actuality from form; it has no activity or
actuality in itself, similar to the way that parts as such only have their existence in a whole
(otherwise they would be independent wholes).
Age of Enlightenment
French philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650) originated the modern conception of matter. He
was primarily a geometer. Unlike Aristotle, who deduced the existence of matter from the physical
reality of change, Descartes arbitrarily postulated matter to be an abstract, mathematical substance
that occupies space:
So, extension in length, breadth, and depth, constitutes the nature of bodily substance;
and thought constitutes the nature of thinking substance. And everything else attributable
to body presupposes extension, and is only a mode of an extended thing.
The continuity and difference between Descartes's and Aristotle's conceptions is noteworthy. In
both conceptions, matter is passive or inert. In the respective conceptions matter has different
relationships to intelligence. For Aristotle, matter and intelligence (form) exist together in an
interdependent relationship, whereas for Descartes, matter and intelligence (mind) are
definitionally opposed, independent substances.[76]
Descartes's justification for restricting the inherent qualities of matter to extension is its
permanence, but his real criterion is not permanence (which equally applied to color and
resistance), but his desire to use geometry to explain all material properties.[77] Like Descartes,
Hobbes, Boyle, and Locke argued that the inherent properties of bodies were limited to extension,
and that so-called secondary qualities, like color, were only products of human perception.[78]
Though Newton's gravity would seem to be a power of bodies, Newton himself did not admit it to
be an essential property of matter. Carrying the logic forward more consistently, Joseph Priestley
(1733–1804) argued that corporeal properties transcend contact mechanics: chemical properties
require the capacity for attraction.[82] He argued matter has other inherent powers besides the so-
called primary qualities of Descartes, et al.[83]
The common definition in terms of occupying space and having mass is in contrast with most
physical and chemical definitions of matter, which rely instead upon its structure and upon
attributes not necessarily related to volume and mass. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the
knowledge of matter began a rapid evolution.
Aspects of the Newtonian view still held sway. James Clerk Maxwell discussed matter in his work
Matter and Motion.[85] He carefully separates "matter" from space and time, and defines it in
terms of the object referred to in Newton's first law of motion.
However, the Newtonian picture was not the whole story. In the 19th century, the term "matter"
was actively discussed by a host of scientists and philosophers, and a brief outline can be found in
Levere.[86] A textbook discussion from 1870 suggests matter is what is made up of atoms:[87]
Three divisions of matter are recognized in science: masses, molecules and atoms.
A Mass of matter is any portion of matter appreciable by the senses.
A Molecule is the smallest particle of matter into which a body can be divided without
losing its identity.
An Atom is a still smaller particle produced by division of a molecule.
Rather than simply having the attributes of mass and occupying space, matter was held to have
chemical and electrical properties. In 1909 the famous physicist J. J. Thomson (1856–1940) wrote
about the "constitution of matter" and was concerned with the possible connection between matter
and electrical charge.[88]
In the late 19th century with the discovery of the electron, and in the early 20th century, with the
Geiger–Marsden experiment discovery of the atomic nucleus, and the birth of particle physics,
matter was seen as made up of electrons, protons and neutrons interacting to form atoms. There
then developed an entire literature concerning the "structure of matter", ranging from the
"electrical structure" in the early 20th century,[89] to the more recent "quark structure of matter",
introduced as early as 1992 by Jacob with the remark: "Understanding the quark structure of
matter has been one of the most important advances in contemporary physics."[90] In this
connection, physicists speak of matter fields, and speak of particles as "quantum excitations of a
mode of the matter field".[10][11] And here is a quote from de Sabbata and Gasperini: "With the
word 'matter' we denote, in this context, the sources of the interactions, that is spinor fields (like
quarks and leptons), which are believed to be the fundamental components of matter, or scalar
fields, like the Higgs particles, which are used to introduced mass in a gauge theory (and that,
however, could be composed of more fundamental fermion fields)."[91]
Protons and neutrons however are not indivisible: they can be divided into quarks. And electrons
are part of a particle family called leptons. Both quarks and leptons are elementary particles, and
were in 2004 seen by authors of an undergraduate text as being the fundamental constituents of
matter.[92]
These quarks and leptons interact through four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism,
weak interactions, and strong interactions. The Standard Model of particle physics is currently the
best explanation for all of physics, but despite decades of efforts, gravity cannot yet be accounted
for at the quantum level; it is only described by classical physics (see Quantum gravity and
Graviton)[93] to the frustration of theoreticians like Stephen Hawking. Interactions between
quarks and leptons are the result of an exchange of force-carrying particles such as photons
between quarks and leptons.[94] The force-carrying particles are not themselves building blocks. As
one consequence, mass and energy (which to our present knowledge cannot be created or
destroyed) cannot always be related to matter (which can be created out of non-matter particles
such as photons, or even out of pure energy, such as kinetic energy). Force mediators are usually
not considered matter: the mediators of the electric force (photons) possess energy (see Planck
relation) and the mediators of the weak force (W and Z bosons) have mass, but neither are
considered matter either.[95] However, while these quanta are not considered matter, they do
contribute to the total mass of atoms, subatomic particles, and all systems that contain
them.[96][97]
Summary
The modern conception of matter has been refined many times in history, in light of the
improvement in knowledge of just what the basic building blocks are, and in how they interact.
The term "matter" is used throughout physics in a wide variety of contexts: for example, one refers
to "condensed matter physics",[98] "elementary matter",[99] "partonic" matter, "dark" matter,
"anti"-matter, "strange" matter, and "nuclear" matter. In discussions of matter and antimatter, the
former has been referred to by Alfvén as koinomatter (Gk. common matter).[100] It is fair to say
that in physics, there is no broad consensus as to a general definition of matter, and the term
"matter" usually is used in conjunction with a specifying modifier.
The history of the concept of matter is a history of the fundamental length scales used to define
matter. Different building blocks apply depending upon whether one defines matter on an atomic
or elementary particle level. One may use a definition that matter is atoms, or that matter is
hadrons, or that matter is leptons and quarks depending upon the scale at which one wishes to
define matter.[101]
These quarks and leptons interact through four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism,
weak interactions, and strong interactions. The Standard Model of particle physics is currently the
best explanation for all of physics, but despite decades of efforts, gravity cannot yet be accounted
for at the quantum level; it is only described by classical physics (see Quantum gravity and
Graviton).[93]
See also
Antimatter
Ambiplasma
Antihydrogen
Antiparticle
Particle accelerator
Cosmology
Cosmological constant
Friedmann equations
Motion
Physical ontology
Dark matter
Axion
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model
Neutralino
Nonbaryonic dark matter
Scalar field dark matter
Philosophy
Atomism
Materialism
Physicalism
Substance theory
Other
Mass–energy equivalence
Mattergy
Pattern formation
Periodic Systems of Small Molecules
Programmable matter
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negative A and L are associated to antimatter particles. All known interactions do conserve
matter"
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69. S. Toulmin; J. Goodfield (1962). The Architecture of Matter. University of Chicago Press.
pp. 48–54.
70. Discussed by Aristotle in Physics, esp. book I, but also later; as well as Metaphysics I–II.
71. For a good explanation and elaboration, see R.J. Connell (1966). Matter and Becoming (http
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72. H.G. Liddell; R. Scott; J.M. Whiton (1891). A lexicon abridged from Liddell & Scott's Greek–
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73. R. Descartes (1644). "The Principles of Human Knowledge". Principles of Philosophy I. p. 53.
74. though even this property seems to be non-essential (René Descartes, Principles of
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75. R. Descartes (1644). "The Principles of Human Knowledge". Principles of Philosophy I. pp. 8,
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76. D.L. Schindler (1986). "The Problem of Mechanism". In D.L. Schindler (ed.). Beyond
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80. Isaac Newton, Optics, Book III, pt. 1, query 31.
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92. The history of the concept of matter is a history of the fundamental length scales used to define
matter. Different building blocks apply depending upon whether one defines matter on an
atomic or elementary particle level. One may use a definition that matter is atoms, or that
matter is hadrons, or that matter is leptons and quarks depending upon the scale at which one
wishes to define matter. B. Povh; K. Rith; C. Scholz; F. Zetsche; M. Lavelle (2004).
"Fundamental constituents of matter" (https://books.google.com/books?id=rJe4k8tkq7sC&pg=
PA9). Particles and Nuclei: An Introduction to the Physical Concepts (4th ed.). Springer.
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94. B.A. Schumm (2004). Deep Down Things: The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics (https://
archive.org/details/deepdownthingsbr00schu). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 57 (https://ar
chive.org/details/deepdownthingsbr00schu/page/57). ISBN 978-0-8018-7971-5.
95. See, for example, M. Jibu; K. Yasue (1995). Quantum Brain Dynamics and Consciousness (htt
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ps://books.google.com/books?id=ws8QZ2M5OR8C&pg=PT143) (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
p. 125. ISBN 978-0-470-74275-4. and K.W. Plaxco; M. Gross (2006). Astrobiology: A Brief
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pp. 773 ff. ISBN 978-0-8493-1202-1.
98. P.M. Chaikin; T.C. Lubensky (2000). Principles of Condensed Matter Physics (https://books.goo
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99. W. Greiner (2003). W. Greiner; M.G. Itkis; G. Reinhardt; M.C. Güçlü (eds.). Structure and
Dynamics of Elementary Matter (https://books.google.com/books?id=ORyJzhAzpUgC).
Springer. p. xii. ISBN 978-1-4020-2445-0.
100. P. Sukys (1999). Lifting the Scientific Veil: Science Appreciation for the Nonscientist (https://arc
hive.org/details/liftingscientifi0000suky). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 87 (https://archive.org/details/l
iftingscientifi0000suky/page/87). ISBN 978-0-8476-9600-0.
101. B. Povh; K. Rith; C. Scholz; F. Zetsche; M. Lavelle (2004). "Fundamental constituents of
matter" (https://books.google.com/books?id=rJe4k8tkq7sC&pg=PA9). Particles and Nuclei: An
Introduction to the Physical Concepts (4th ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-20168-7.
Further reading
Lillian Hoddeson; Michael Riordan, eds. (1997). The Rise of the Standard Model (https://books.
google.com/books?id=klLUs2XUmOkC). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57816-
5.
Timothy Paul Smith (2004). "The search for quarks in ordinary matter" (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=Pc1A0qJio88C&pg=PA1). Hidden Worlds. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-
0-691-05773-6.
Harald Fritzsch (2005). Elementary Particles: Building blocks of matter (https://archive.org/detai
ls/elementarypartic0000frit). World Scientific. p. 1 (https://archive.org/details/elementarypartic0
000frit/page/1). Bibcode:2005epbb.book.....F (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005epbb.boo
k.....F). ISBN 978-981-256-141-1.
Bertrand Russell (1992). "The philosophy of matter" (https://books.google.com/books?id=R7Ga
uFXXedwC&pg=PA88). A Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of Leibniz (Reprint of 1937
2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-415-08296-9.
Stephen Toulmin and June Goodfield, The Architecture of Matter (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1962).
Richard J. Connell, Matter and Becoming (Chicago: The Priory Press, 1966).
Ernan McMullin, The Concept of Matter in Greek and Medieval Philosophy (Notre Dame,
Indiana: Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1965).
Ernan McMullin, The Concept of Matter in Modern Philosophy (Notre Dame, Indiana: University
of Notre Dame Press, 1978).
External links
Visionlearning Module on Matter (https://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?m
id=49&l=&c3=)
Matter in the universe (https://web.archive.org/web/20090227150154/http://www.newuniverse.c
o.uk/Matter.html) How much Matter is in the Universe?
NASA on superfluid core of neutron star (https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answer
s/970213.html)
Matter and Energy: A False Dichotomy (http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-
physics-basics/mass-energy-matter-etc/matter-and-energy-a-false-dichotomy/) –
Conversations About Science with Theoretical Physicist Matt Strassler