Cosmology View
My views on Cosmology and Physics
site navigation menu
Books by David Michalets
Mass and Gravity
1 Matter and Mass
This is section 1 of 11 in the web-book.
The explanation of gravity begins with an understanding of mass in the equation.
1.1 Matter
Matter is every object we can see or measure. Each object is radiating, reflecting, or absorbing energy, so it can be measured.
Any particle of matter holding an electrical charge is also called plasma. Plasma has unique behaviors compared to matter having no charge. An object having a charge is subject to electric and magnetic fields resulting on a force acting on it. Matter consists of atoms and their molecules, as well as any subatomic particles having mass, such as electron, proton, and neutrino (but only if it has a non-zero mass).
1.2 Definition of matter
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic particles, and in everyday as well as scientific usage, "matter" generally includes atoms and anything made up of them, and any particles (or combination of particles) that act as if they have both rest mass and volume.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter
1.3 Definition of mass
Mass is both a property of a physical body and a measure of its resistance to acceleration (a change in its state of motion) when a net force is applied. An object's mass also determines the strength of its gravitational attraction to other bodies.
reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass
Observation.
The topic offers methods of measuring the mass of an object.
1.4 Standard Model
There has been a standard model for an atom for a long time. The Large Hadron Collider, LHC, has been used frequently to learn about the subatomic particles declared to be part of the Standard Model.
Here is its description.
The current state of the classification of all elementary particles is explained by the Standard Model, which gained widespread acceptance in the mid-1970s after experimental confirmation of the existence of quarks. It describes the strong, weak, and electromagnetic fundamental interactions, using mediating gauge bosons. The species of gauge bosons are eight gluons, W?, W+ and Z bosons, and the photon. The Standard Model also contains 24 fundamental fermions (12 particles and their associated anti-particles), which are the constituents of all matter.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model
Observation:
Quarks and other subatomic particles are not relevant to gravity.
I have justified that uarks are only inert debris found only in particle accelerators, meaning the Standard Model is broken.
In the section My Relevant Publications, there is Practical Particle Physics with that conclusion.
The only aspect of any atomic model relevant to gravity is the pair of fundamental particles, the electron and proton, which make up atoms in matter.
Matter is many combinations of only these 2 particles.
The mass being measured for an object of matter comes from the sum of all of is components, the electron and proton.
The standard mode and its zoo of quasi-particles, when considered from the context of gravity, is irrelevant.
Observation:
To state a simple atomic model:
The nucleus in an atom consists of only protons and electrons. A neutron is a temporary bond between the 2. When this neutron leaves the nucleus, the bond dissolves back into the pair within a few minutes.
A specific number of electrons, matching the net positive charge of the nucleus, will orbit around the nucleus.
The total mass of an atom is the sum of all electrons and protons. The configuration of the electron, whether in the nucleus with protons, or in shells around the nucleus has no affect on the atomic mass.
1.5 Origin of a mass value
Matter is composed of atoms. Atoms are composed of the 2 fundamental particles, electron and proton.
Specific combinations of these 2 particles are defined as elements in the periodic table.
We can measure the mass of the 2 particles, so we can estimate the mass of each element and each isotope by summing all of its components.. The Measured mass for the element is lightly less than this sum; this difference is called the atomic mass defect. It is caused by the slight reduction of a proton's mass when compressed into the nucleus. The reduction is only by compression. There is no permanent loss of mass.
Mater consists of many atoms being held together by different bonds. Some bonds are permanent until enough external energy breaks the bond, like covalent bonds which form molecules, where 2 atoms share a valence electron.
No mass is lost when an atom forms a bond with one or more other atoms.
Therefore, as more atoms are bonded to others creating a larger object, the mass continues to be the sum of all of the electrons and protons in the object of matter, with the recognition of the atomic mass defect within individual atoms.
An ion is an atom which lost one or more electrons. Electrons have a mass 1/1836 of a proton so this reduction in the mass of an ion is almost trivial, especially with increasing an atomic number of its element.
Gravity is the force between 2 masses. To calculate the force, the mass of each must be known.
Go to Table of Contents, to read a specific section.
last change 03/21/2022