Unified Field Theory - Introduction

Introduction

According to the current understanding of physics, forces are not transmitted directly between objects, but instead are described by intermediary entities called fields. All four of the known fundamental forces are mediated by fields, which in the Standard Model of particle physics result from exchange of gauge bosons. Specifically the four interactions to be unified are:

  • Strong interaction: the interaction responsible for holding quarks together to form neutrons and protons, and holding neutrons and protons together to form nuclei. The exchange particle that mediates this force is the gluon.
  • Electromagnetic interaction: the familiar interaction that acts on electrically charged particles. The photon is the exchange particle for this force.
  • Weak interaction: a repulsive short-range interaction responsible for some forms of radioactivity, that acts on electrons, neutrinos, and quarks. It is governed by the W and Z bosons.
  • Gravitational interaction: a long-range attractive interaction that acts on all particles. The postulated exchange particle has been named the graviton.

Modern unified field theory attempts to bring these four interactions together into a single framework.

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