Higgs Boson?
...Mass?
...Gravity?
Is the Higgs Boson the solution to the mass and gravity enigmas?
This web page proposes an alternative to the Higgs Mechanism. This new explanation of mass
and gravity is part of the "Spacetime Model", a Theory of Everything based on
spacetime. This "higgsless" theory explains the mass and gravity enigma using only
four dimensions: x, y, z and t. No extra dimensions, as the Higgs Field, are needed.
Physicists who prefer a mathematical demonstration of the proposed theory can download
the original document, a 54 pages PDF file. The download URL is located at the end of this web
page. This PDF document is more accurate than the present HTML web page and contains experimentations
and validation using mathematics. In particular, the Schwarzschild Metric and
Newton Law are not calculated from EFE (Einstein-Hilbert Field Equations) but from scratch,
using a new method based on the Hooke Law. This mathematical demonstration validates the proposed theory.
The Spacetime Curvature
If we drop a billiard ball in a container filled with water, it is the volume
of the ball, and not its mass, which produces the water displacement.
The same phenomenon also exists in spacetime. Contrary to preconceived ideas,
it is the volume of elementary particles, and not their mass, which deforms spacetime. So:
Any volume inserted in spacetime necessarily produces a curvature of it
This deduction leads to a question: "what is a volume?"
Notes:
1) This example does not correspond exactly to spacetime since water is not elastic.
It would be more exact to compare spacetime to a kind of deformable crystal or a flexible
polystyrene foam. Since spacetime is elastic, if the volume of the central object is removed,
the curvature disappears. 2) The figure was simplified to two dimensions for teaching purposes.
3) The constitution of the central object is important. However, this subject is covered in
Part 2 of the Spacetime Model. 4) The time component of spacetime is also curved.
Open and Closed Volumes
Let's now replace the billiard ball used in the preceding example by a balloon
having the same volume. This does not change anything.
However, if we make some holes in the balloon, water will go inside
it and the displacement of water will disappear (but the volume continues existing).
The same phenomenon also exists in quantum mechanics. We have two classes of volumes:
-
Closed volumes (fig. A): These volumes make a displacement of spacetime.
As we will see further, the spacetime curvature produces a "mass effect". So, closed
volumes have a real mass-volume equivalence, which may be written: m=k.v, with k=conversion
constant, 5.9239x1017 kg/m3 for the proton (CODATA 2006).
Nuclear matter like quarks, electrons, protons, neutrons, muons, mesons, lambdas...
are examples of closed volumes.
-
Open Volumes (fig. B): These volumes exist but do not produce any displacement
of spacetime. If there is no curvature, there is no "mass effect" either. Orbitals of
atoms are examples of open volumes.
All objects of the universe are combinations of closed volumes (with mass) and open volumes (massless).
This is why we have the illusion, on Earth, that mass and volume are two different dimensions.
Gravity
Since spacetime is elastic (Einstein), its curvature produces pressures
on two volumes. This tends to bring them closer to each other.
The "principle of split", which comes from the fluid theory of the
nineteenth century, also confirms this explanation.
Let's imagine a sphere (fig. A). If we split this sphere down the middle (fig. B),
each half is subjected to only one force. We have a movement of each half toward
the other. Transposed to spacetime, this phenomenon is simply “gravity”, which
is a pressure force on volumes.
It is important to note that, in these two examples, it is the volume
(not the mass) which makes the curvature of spacetime.
Therefore, contrary to preconceived ideas,
Gravity is not a mysterious attractive force between masses, but a simple pressure force
(Hooke Force) exerted by spacetime on (closed) volumes.
Finally, the explanation of mass and gravity is quite simple and, as we see, doesn't
need extra dimensions as in the Higgs Model or the String Theory.
Current Theory vs Proposed Theory
Note: Any massive object is made of two quantities: a closed volume, which curves spacetime,
and a "mass effect" produced by the curvature of spacetime. Therefore, a "mass
effect" is associated to each closed volume. Only volume physically exists. Mass doesn't exist
in concrete terms. Mass is an "effect" due to the pressure of spacetime on closed volumes. Mass is
a kind of virtual quantity.
Examples
Attractive Force vs Pressure Force
In this first example, imagine that you hold a very light polystyrene ball in your hand.
A flexible polystyrene foam, which is curved by the ball, replaces spacetime.
The curvature of the foam (= spacetime) produces a pressure on the top of the ball,
toward Earth (not represented on the figure). If you close yours eyes, you will
sense that the ball is heavier. It is not the mass of the ball, which increases,
as we could think, but the pressure on the top of it. However, the result is identical.
It we replace the foam by spacetime, we can say:
Attractive force (gravity) = Pressure force produced by spacetime
What is Volume?
In this theory, we must reconsider what we call "Volume". For example, what is the real volume of earth + moon? We have two
different points of view.
- A: The individual volume of the earth is added to that of the moon.
- B: The empty space between the earth and the moon has been added too.
Translated into quantum mechanics, the earth is the nucleus, the moon is an electron, and empty
space is the vacuum between the nucleus and electrons, i.e. 99,999 % of the atom volume. Since
the empty space doesn't curve spacetime, there is no reason to take into account this empty
space for mass and gravity calculations.
Therefore, experimentations measuring the volume of atoms or molecules with the (B) scheme may be
interesting for various reasons, but in General Relativity, we must take into account only closed
volumes, as in (A).
In other words, for mass and gravity calculations, all open volumes must be excluded.
The Atom Volume
In atoms, electrons are on empty orbitals already crossed on both sides by spacetime.
Orbitals are "open volumes" since they do not curve spacetime. Orbitals are massless.
Finally, an atom is a combination of closed volumes (with mass) and open volumes (massless).
Experimentation confirms that atoms are made of:
- Closed volumes, with mass : protons, neutrons and electrons
- Open volumes, massless : orbitals
If we need to know the volume of an atom, we can take either the "matter volume" (nucleus
+ electrons), or the entire "visible volume" (nucleus + electrons + empty space, or