Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: geordief on 06/11/2019 00:46:19

Title: Is the vacuum synonymous with the absence of a medium?
Post by: geordief on 06/11/2019 00:46:19
Is that all the vacuum is?
And are there mediums that have properties that are closer to those of a vacuum than others?

If you "rarify" any medium does it approach a vacuum as a limit?

So a vacuum in that sense is ** a kind of medium ,especially since it is said that it is probably not empty?

** Well at least  is not the opposite of a medium
Title: Re: Is the vacuum synonymous with the absence of a medium?
Post by: yor_on on 06/11/2019 08:39:57
It's a geometry defined from a inside.
It's also 'SpaceTime'.

But before all it's something we define by being inside it.
Title: Re: Is the vacuum synonymous with the absence of a medium?
Post by: geordief on 07/11/2019 16:25:45
It's a geometry defined from a inside.

I am not sure I follow.In what sense  is the vacuum described geometrically?
Title: Re: Is the vacuum synonymous with the absence of a medium?
Post by: jeffreyH on 07/11/2019 19:54:39
Particle fields have potential. The fields, electromagnetic and gravitational for instance, extend to infinity. Potential is converted to energy by a displacement in the location of a mass. Since the fields exist everywhere then this potential also exists everywhere. So the vacuum cannot simply be empty. There is a ground state for each field which is its minimum potential. This represents the minimum or zero point energy of the field.

See also the Wikipedia reference on action.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(physics)#:~:targetText=In%20physics%2C%20action%20is%20an,the%20principle%20of%20stationary%20action.&targetText=Action%20has%20the%20dimensions%20of,SI%20unit%20is%20joule%2Dsecond. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(physics)#:~:targetText=In%20physics%2C%20action%20is%20an,the%20principle%20of%20stationary%20action.&targetText=Action%20has%20the%20dimensions%20of,SI%20unit%20is%20joule%2Dsecond.)