Dear Dr B: Is It Possible That At That Topographic Point Is A Universe Inwards Every Particle?

“Is it possible that our ‘elementary’ particles are genuinely large scale aggregations of a different laid of something much smaller? Then, from a mathematical signal of view, at that topographic point could travel an infinite sequence of smaller (and larger) edifice blocks together with universes.”

                                                                      Peter Letts

Dear Peter,

I honey the thought that at that topographic point is a universe inward every uncomplicated particle! Unfortunately, it is genuinely hard to brand this hypothesis compatible amongst what nosotros already know nearly particle physics.

Simply conjecturing that the known particles are made upwards of smaller particles doesn’t function well. The argue is that the masses of the element particles must travel smaller than the volume of the composite particle, together with the lighter a particle, the easier it is to attain inward particle accelerators. So why together with then haven’t nosotros seen these constituents already?

One agency to larn to a greater extent than or less this occupation is to brand the novel particles strongly bound, so that it takes a lot of divulge energy to interruption the bond fifty-fifty though the particles themselves are light. This is how it industrial plant for the potent nuclear strength which holds quarks together within protons. The quarks are lite but soundless hard to attain because you lot take away a high divulge energy to tear them apart from each other.

There isn’t before long whatever prove that whatever of the known uncomplicated particles are made upwards of novel strongly-bound smaller particles (usually referred to every bit preons), together with many of the models which receive got been proposed for this receive got run across conflict amongst data. Some are soundless viable, but amongst such strongly outpouring particles you lot cannot exercise something remotely resembling our universe. To larn structures similar to what nosotros discovery you lot take away an interplay of both long-distance forces (like gravity) together with short-distance forces (like the potent nuclear force).

The other affair you lot could endeavour is to brand the element particles genuinely weakly interacting amongst the particles nosotros know already, so that producing them inward particle colliders would travel unlikely. This, however, causes several other problems, ane of which is that fifty-fifty the really weakly interacting particles comport divulge energy together with thus receive got a gravitational pull. If they are produced at whatever substantial rates at whatever fourth dimension inward the history of the universe, nosotros should reckon prove for their presence but nosotros don’t. Another occupation is that past times Heisenberg’s doubtfulness principle, particles amongst modest masses are hard to continue within modest regions of space, similar within some other uncomplicated particle.

You tin circumvent the latter occupation past times conjecturing that the within of a particle genuinely has a large volume, kinda similar Mary Poppins’ magical bag, if anyone recalls this.


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Sounds crazy, I know, but you lot tin brand this function inward full general relativity because infinite tin travel strongly curved. Such cases are known every bit “baby universes”: They await modest from the exterior but tin travel huge on the inside. You together with then take away to sprinkle a piffling quantum gravity magic over them for stability. You too take away to add together some form of foreign fluid, non different nighttime energy, to brand for sure that fifty-fifty though at that topographic point are lots of massive particles inside, from the exterior the volume is small.

I promise you lot notice that this was already a lot of hand-waving, but the problems don’t halt there. If you lot desire every uncomplicated particle to each receive got a universe inside, you lot take away to explicate why nosotros alone know 25 different uncomplicated particles. Why aren’t at that topographic point billions of them? An fifty-fifty bigger occupation is that uncomplicated particles are quantum objects: They larn constantly created together with destroyed together with they tin travel inward several places at once. How would construction formation e'er function inward such a universe? It is too a to a greater extent than frequently than non the illustration inward quantum theories that the to a greater extent than variants at that topographic point are of a particle, the to a greater extent than of them you lot produce. So why don’t nosotros attain humongous amounts of uncomplicated particles if they’re all different inside?

The problems that I listed exercise non of course of report dominion out the idea. You tin endeavour to come upwards up amongst explanations for all of this so that the model does what you lot desire together with is compatible amongst all observations. But what you lot together with then terminate upwards amongst is a complicated theory that has no prove speaking for it, designed simply because somebody likes the idea. It’s non necessarily wrong. I would fifty-fifty state it’s interesting to speculate nearly (as you lot tin tell, I receive got done my portion of speculation). But it’s non science.

Thanks for an interesting question!