The fundamental element in the study of the vast majority of the natural sciences is matter. In this article we will consider the concept, types of matter, forms of its motion and properties.
What is matter?
For many centuries, the concept of matter has changed and improved. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato saw it as a substrate of things that opposes their idea. Aristotle said that this is something eternal that can neither be created nor destroyed. Later, the philosophers Democritus and Leucippus defined matter as a certain fundamental substance of which all bodies in our world and in the Universe are composed.
The modern concept of matter was given by V.I. 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 signs:
The first two are distinguished by metrological properties, that is, they can be quantified by special instruments. Space is measured in meters and its derivatives, and time in hours, minutes, seconds, and also in days, months, years, etc. Time also has another, no less important property - irreversibility. You cannot return to any initial time point, the time vector always has a one-sided orientation and moves from the past to the future. Unlike time, space is a more complex concept and has a three-dimensional dimension (height, length, width). Thus, all types of matter can move in space for a certain period of time.
Forms of motion of matter
Everything that surrounds us moves in space and interacts with each other. The movement occurs continuously and is the main property that all types of matter possess. Meanwhile, this process can occur not only with the interaction of several objects, but also inside the substance itself, causing its modifications. The following forms of motion of matter are distinguished:
- Mechanical is the movement of objects in space (falling an apple from a branch, running a hare).
- Physical - occurs when the body changes its characteristics (for example, the state of aggregation). Examples: snow melts, water evaporates, etc.
- Chemical - modification of the chemical composition of a substance (metal corrosion, glucose oxidation)
- Biological - takes place in living organisms and characterizes vegetative growth, metabolism, reproduction, etc.
- Social form - processes of social interaction: communication, holding meetings, elections, etc.
- Geological - characterizes the movement of matter in the earth's crust and the bowels of the planet: core, mantle.
All of the above forms of matter are interconnected, complementary and interchangeable. They cannot 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 the movement, however, there are other universal properties:
- It is irreplaceable and indestructible. This property means that any body or substance for some time exists, develops, ceases to exist as the original object, however, matter does not cease to exist, but simply turns into other forms.
- It is eternal and infinite in space.
- Constant movement, transformation, modification.
- Predestination, dependence on generating 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 species. It can consist of particles, molecules, atoms, as well as their compounds, which form a physical body.
- The physical field is a special material substance, which is designed to ensure the interaction of objects (substances).
- Physical vacuum - is the material medium with the least energy level.
Next, we will dwell on each of the species in more detail.
Substance
A substance is a type of matter whose main property 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, which, 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 points, and the structure of the crystal lattice. Under certain conditions, different substances can be combined and mixed. In nature, they occur in three states of aggregation: solid, liquid and gaseous. In this case, the specific state of aggregation only corresponds to the conditions of substance content and the intensity of molecular interaction, but is not its individual characteristic. So, water at different temperatures can take both liquid and solid, and gaseous form.
Physical field
Types of physical matter include a component such as a physical field. It represents a certain system in which material bodies interact. The field is not an independent object, but rather a carrier of specific properties of the particles that formed it. Thus, an impulse released from one particle, but not absorbed by another, is a field property.
Physical fields are real intangible forms of matter with the property of continuity. They can be classified according to various criteria:
- Depending on the field-forming charge emit: electric, magnetic and gravitational fields.
- By the nature of the movement of charges: dynamic field, statistical (contains charged particles motionless relative to each other).
- By physical nature: macro- and microfields (created by the movement of individual charged particles).
- Depending on the environment of existence: external (which surrounds the charged particles), internal (field inside the substance), true (total value of the external and internal fields).
Physical vacuum
In the 20th century, the term “physical vacuum” appeared in physics as a compromise between materialists and idealists to explain certain phenomena. The former attributed material properties to it, while the latter claimed that vacuum is nothing but emptiness. Modern physics has refuted the ideas of idealists and proved that vacuum is a material medium, also called a quantum field. The number of particles in it is equal to zero, which, however, does not prevent the short-term occurrence of particles in the intermediate phases. In quantum theory, the energy level of the physical vacuum is conventionally 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 arose precisely in the conditions of an excited physical vacuum.
The structure of the physical vacuum is still not fully understood, although many of its properties are known. According to the hole theory of Dirac, a quantum field consists of moving quanta with the same charges, the composition of the quanta themselves remains unclear, the clusters of which move in the form of wave flows.