What Is More Common In The Universe, Waves Or Particles?

[arkain101]

The title says enough. I am wondering what is the more common state of matter in the universe, waves or particles. Which state does the universe prefer to behave as?

I'd like to see some type of evidence and possibly an equation that demonstrates the answer.

My research tells me that it is most likely that the natural state of matter and energy is waves. However, I haven't seen a strong enough explanation to convince me.

This answer is important for some theories I am formulating on quantum mechanics and classical physics.

[Buffy]

Well, of course Wave-Particle Duality posits that they are just two views of anything we can observe. Even physicists though tend to differentiate between physical objects that have mass and energy which can have momentum without mass. And according to current cosmology, Dark Energy (a wave?) makes up 70% of everything.

 

I'm going to assume you actually know this, but wanted to throw it out as a more familiar touchstone on the topic. I guess you're talking about something tangential to this, but I thought it might help ground the discussion here.

 

 

It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree, :phones:

Buffy

[arkain101]

I think the question written in the first post explains it well: "what is the more common state of matter in the universe, waves or particles?"

You see, I am speaking of everyday matter and including energy. I would not like to involve speculative phenomena like dark energy.

As far as I understand, matter operates as a possibility wave function. This is its natural state. Meaning a simple measurement will show that matter is functioning as a wave preferably over the state of a particle.

I was hoping someone could shed more light on this subject, because I realized that this can tell us a lot about the reasons why we have such strange quantum effects in the very small parts of matter.

It occurred to me that we ought to think of sub-atomic matter as being in a super position, where it can be considered both a particle and a wave at the same time. Only the type of measurement will determine which form it takes to provide a certain idea of its nature.

At this level of reality (the quantum world) we end up with all these aspects of probability for the nature of the "material" we are interested in. As such you cannot make a prediction as to the result you are looking for. You must abide by mathematical rules which determine the results of measurements and experiments.

What is interesting is that this level of nature follows the rules statistics, in where, multiple measurements show give and take probabilities. Adding to this, for example, if you try to determine the position of an electron you lose on your ability to know its momentum and vice versa.

These quantum effects mean that quantum level nature has no certain state. It simply operates like two or more functions at the same time.

However, if we could calculate or measure which function it operates as most often, we could determine great insights into the mechanics of quantum physics.

[exchemist]

I think the question written in the first post explains it well: "what is the more common state of matter in the universe, waves or particles?"

 

You see, I am speaking of everyday matter and including energy. I would not like to involve speculative phenomena like dark energy.

 

As far as I understand, matter operates as a possibility wave function. This is its natural state. Meaning a simple measurement will show that matter is functioning as a wave preferably over the state of a particle.

 

I was hoping someone could shed more light on this subject, because I realized that this can tell us a lot about the reasons why we have such strange quantum effects in the very small parts of matter.

 

It occurred to me that we ought to think of sub-atomic matter as being in a super position, where it can be considered both a particle and a wave at the same time. Only the type of measurement will determine which form it takes to provide a certain idea of its nature.

 

At this level of reality (the quantum world) we end up with all these aspects of probability for the nature of the "material" we are interested in. As such you cannot make a prediction as to the result you are looking for. You must abide by mathematical rules which determine the results of measurements and experiments.

 

What is interesting is that this level of nature follows the rules statistics, in where, multiple measurements show give and take probabilities. Adding to this, for example, if you try to determine the position of an electron you lose on your ability to know its momentum and vice versa.

 

These quantum effects mean that quantum level nature has no certain state. It simply operates like two or more functions at the same time.

 

However, if we could calculate or measure which function it operates as most often, we could determine great insights into the mechanics of quantum physics.

I don't really see how it helps to try to decide between the particle and wave behaviour when matter and radiation appear to have aspects of both all the time. According to QM at least. Which facet of behaviour is displayed depends on the experiment one does, not on whether matter is behaving as one or the other at the time.  I think it is a misconception to think matter is either one or the other and sort of flip-flops between them. It doesn't.  It has aspects of both at once.

 

Speaking as a chemist, I find it quite natural to think of electrons as behaving mostly like waves that can only interact in quantised lumps, corresponding to whole electron particles. But the curious thing is that in chemistry we jump from a wave picture to a particle picture and back all the time, without even thinking about it. 

[Vmedvil]

Well, of course Wave-Particle Duality posits that they are just two views of anything we can observe. Even physicists though tend to differentiate between physical objects that have mass and energy which can have momentum without mass. And according to current cosmology, Dark Energy (a wave?) makes up 70% of everything.

 

I'm going to assume you actually know this, but wanted to throw it out as a more familiar touchstone on the topic. I guess you're talking about something tangential to this, but I thought it might help ground the discussion here.

 

 

It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree, :phones:

Buffy

 

I agree, with Buffy here the universe does seem to prefer a wave with so much Dark Energy, but this is kinda null point, wave-particle duality means they exist as both at the same-time, so both are equally valid as a stable state meaning that if you didn't count Dark Energy as existing, there would be a nearly equal amount of both being that everything else experiences Dualism of states. Wave and Particle views are very human in nature, the universe does not view them as different, but Dark Energy does not seem to have a Particle state working as a global expansion wave rather than a localized interaction. I suppose if the entire universe is "Dark Energy's Particle" then both Wave and Particle states are equal in amount.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Vmedvil