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Re: Some Research

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Posted by sol on December 05, 2002 at 06:30:07:

In Reply to: Re: String theory from logic alone( With Quantum Gravity?) posted by DickT on December 01, 2002 at 12:36:47:


Back in 1931 some of the greatest minds in physics were wrestling with the problem of combining two of the most important theories that had emerged at the turn of the century, special relativity (the physics of the fast) and quantum mechanics (the physics of the small). P.A.M. Dirac pulled the magic rabbit out of the hat when he wrote down the first equation that successfully described a relativistic-quantum-mechanical electron. The equation now bears his name.

In the first diagram the two particles come together and disappear, forming a photon. This process is appropriately called annihilation. The second picture shows a photon disappear, forming an electron-positron pair. This process is called creation or pair production. A very important aspect of these processes is that they occur between pairs of particles. If we had two electrons and one positron around, annihilation will leave us with one leftover electron. A second important aspect of these processes is that annihilation can occur whenever an electron and a positron come together, whereas creation can only occur if there is a photon with sufficient kinetic energy to provide the needed rest energies of the electron and positron. These processes are not limited to the electron and the positron, but can occur for any particle and its antiparticle.



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