Types of matter: matter, physical field, physical vacuum. The concept of matter

The fundamental element of studying the vast majority of the natural sciences is matter. In this article we will consider the concept, types of matter, the forms of its movement and properties.

What is matter?

Throughout many centuries, the concept of matter has changed and improved. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato saw it as a substratum of things that opposes their idea. Aristotle said that this is something eternal, that can not be either created or destroyed. Later, the philosophers Democritus and Leucippus gave the definition of matter as a certain basic substance from which all bodies in our world and in the universe are composed.

The modern concept of matter was given by VI Lenin, according to which it is an independent and independent objective category, expressed by human perception, sensations, it can also be copied and photographed.

Attributes of Matter

The main characteristics of matter are three features:

• Space.
• Time.
• Motion.

The first two differ in metrological properties, that is, they can be measured quantitatively with special devices. The space is measured in meters and its derivatives, and the time in hours, minutes, seconds, and also in days, months, years, etc. Time also has another, no less important property - irreversibility. You can not return to any initial time point, the time vector always has a one-way direction and moves from the past to the future. In contrast to time, space is a more complex concept and has a three-dimensional dimension (height, length, width). Thus, all kinds of matter can move in space for a certain period of time.

Forms of motion of matter

Everything that surrounds us, moves around in space and interacts with each other. Movement occurs continuously and is the main property that all kinds of matter possess. Meanwhile, this process can proceed not only with the interaction of several objects, but also within the substance itself, causing its modification. Distinguish the following forms of motion of matter:

• Mechanical - this is the movement of objects in space (falling apple from a branch, running a hare).

• Physical - arises when the body changes its characteristics (for example, the aggregate state). Examples: snow melts, water evaporates, etc.
• Chemical - modification of the chemical composition of the substance (metal corrosion, glucose oxidation)
• Biological - takes place in living organisms and characterizes vegetative growth, metabolism, reproduction, etc.

• Social form - the processes of social interaction: communication, holding meetings, elections, etc.
• Geological - characterizes the motion of matter in the earth's crust and the bowels of the planet: the core, the mantle.

All the above forms of matter are interrelated, complementary and interchangeable. They can not exist independently and are not self-sufficient.

Properties of matter

Ancient and modern science attributed many properties to matter. The most common and obvious is movement, but there are other universal properties:

• It is uncreatable and indestructible. This property means that any body or substance exists for a while, develops, ceases to exist as the original object, but matter does not cease to exist, but simply turns into other forms.
• It is eternal and infinite in space.
• Constant motion, transformation, modification.
• Predetermination, dependence on generative factors and causes. This property is a kind of explanation of the origin of matter as a consequence of certain phenomena.

The main types of matter

Modern scientists distinguish three fundamental types of matter:

• A substance with a certain mass at rest is the most common form. It can consist of particles, molecules, atoms, as well as their compounds, which form a physical body.
• A physical field is a special material substance that is designed to provide the interaction of objects (substances).
• A physical vacuum is a material medium with the lowest energy level.

In more detail, we will focus on each of the species.

Substance

A substance is a kind of matter, the main property of which is discreteness, that is, discontinuity, limitation. Its structure includes the smallest particles in the form of protons, electrons and neutrons, of which the atom consists. Atoms combine into molecules, forming a substance that, in turn, forms a physical body or fluid substance.

Any substance has a number of individual characteristics that distinguish it from others: mass, density, boiling and melting point, the structure of the crystal lattice. Under certain conditions, different substances can be combined and mixed. In nature, they occur in three aggregate states: solid, liquid and gaseous. In this case, the concrete aggregate state only corresponds to the conditions of the substance content and the intensity of the molecular interaction, but is not its individual characteristic. Thus, water at different temperatures can take both a liquid, and a solid, and a gaseous form.

Physical Field

Types of physical matter include such a component as a physical field. It is a kind of system in which the material bodies interact. The field is not an independent object, but rather a carrier of the specific properties of the particles that formed it. Thus, a pulse released from one particle, but not absorbed by the other, is a field accessory.

Physical fields are real intangible forms of matter possessing the property of continuity. They can be classified according to various criteria:

1. Depending on the field-forming charge, there are: electric, magnetic and gravitational fields.
2. According to the nature of the motion of charges: a dynamic field, statistical (contains charged particles relative to each other).
3. By physical nature: macro- and microfield (created by the motion of individual charged particles).
4. Depending on the environment of existence: the external (which surrounds the charged particles), the internal (the field inside the substance), the true (the total value of the external and internal fields).

Physical vacuum

In the 20th century, in physics, as a compromise between materialists and idealists, the term "physical vacuum" appeared to explain certain phenomena. The first attributed to him the material properties, while the latter claimed that the vacuum is nothing but a void. Modern physics has refuted the judgments of the idealists and proved that vacuum is a material medium, also called the quantum field. The number of particles in it is equated to zero, which, however, does not prevent the short-term occurrence of particles in the intermediate phases. In quantum theory, the level of energy of a physical vacuum is conditionally taken as the minimum, that is, equal to zero. However, it has been experimentally proved that the energy field can take both negative and positive charges. There is a hypothesis that the Universe originated precisely under the conditions of an excited physical vacuum.

Until now, the structure of the physical vacuum has not been fully understood, although many of its properties are known. According to the Dirac hole theory, the quantum field consists of moving quanta with identical charges, the composition of the quanta themselves remains unclear, the clusters of which move in the form of wave flows.