The Unity of Physis

Philosophica, 47, Lisboa, 2016, pp. 141-153. T U  P José Nunes Ramalho C oca 1 (Depa amen o de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Cen o de Filosofi a das Ciências, Uni e sidade de Lisboa) 1. In oduc ion In his pape , a ske ch o p oposal o a global, epis emic, uni ying ision o physics is ad anced. I aims o p esen a new way o looking a na u e, he Physis, based on he o ganiza ional gene ic p inciple o eu hy- hmy. In his pe spec i e, adi ional physics — quan um physics, ela i- is ic physics and classical physics — can all be seen as a pa icula ope- a ional case o he new ela ional nonlinea physics o he complex. Mo- eo e , New Physics — he eu hy hmic physics — also aims o es ablish a deep in e connec ion be ween he commonly labeled ha d sciences and he so sciences dealing wi h complex sys ems. Among hese so-called so sciences, we may men ion humani ies, psychology, sociology, econo- mics, e c. In hese sciences, which essen ially deal wi h complex sys ems, he whole is in gene al qui e diff e en om he sum o i s cons i uen pa s. In hese condi ions, hey a e no gene ally liable o a easonable ea men wi hin he adi ional simplis ic Ca esian linea concep ual amewo k. Na u e – ha is, Physis – is one, so he main objec i e o na u al phi- losophe s, o physicis s wo king on ounda ional issues, has always been he sea ch o his hidden Uni y. This objec i e unde wen a g ea leap 1 [email p o ec ed] 142 be ween he six een h and he eigh een h cen u ies due p incipally o he wo k o g ea hinke s. F om hese we may poin ou , Gio dano B uno1, Galilee2, Desca es3, New on4 and many o he s. This g ea concep ual and expe imen al eff o ga e place o a change in he way we looked a na u e, hus gi ing o igin o he eme gence o he mechanical pa adigm. Ne e heless, a he beginning o he wen ie h cen u y, expe imen al e idence clea ly showed ha his fi s app oach needed o be imp o ed. F om he la ge amoun o expe imen al e idence, ga he ed in he di e se fi elds o physics, he mechanic pa adigm seemed inadequa e o ea hose si ua ions. The p oblems appea ed mainly a e y sho ime scales and spa ial scales. In e y sho ime scales, ela ed wi h g ea eloci ies, namely he eloci y o ligh , i was seen ha he linea addi i e law o eloci ies no longe hold. In o de o deal wi h hese diffi cul ies special ela i i y was bo n5. The expe - imen al p oblems aised a e y sho spa ial scale, in he domain o mic o- physics, ga e o igin o he de elopmen o quan um mechanics6. S ill, and he e lies he impo an poin , he basic goal, he uni y o physics, was in a ce ain sense b oken. In ac , quan um mechanics and ela i i y a e opposi e heo ies. Rela i i y is a causal heo y which gi es p imacy o ime and space o mo e p ecisely o hei in ima e ela ionship, space ime. Quan um me- chanics, adi ional quan um mechanics, is a non-causal inde e minis ic heo y in which space and ime do no play a signifi can ole. 1 Gio dano B uno, La Cena de le Cene i, a cu a di Gio anni Aquilecchia, To ino: Einaudi, 1955. 2 Galileo Galilei, Dialogues Conce ning Two New Sciences, ansla ed by Hen y C ew and Al onso de Sal io (o iginally published in 1914), New Yo k: Do e Publica ions, 1954. 3 René Desca es (1626) Règles u iles e clai es pou la di ec ion de l’esp i en la eche che de la é i é, la Haye: Ma inus Nijhoff , 1977; Idem, Discou s de la Mé hode pou bien condui e la aison e che che la é i é dans les sciences, s.l.: F ench & Eu opean Pub., 1990. 4 Isaac New on (1726), Philosophie Na u alis P incipia Ma hema ica, English ans. I. Be na d Cohen and Anne Whi man, “The P incipia. Ma hema ical P inciples o Na u al Philosophy, A New T ansla ion” [P incipia - ed. Cohen], Be keley and Los Angeles: Uni e si y o Cali o nia P ess, 1999. 5 Albe Eins ein, On he elec odynamics o mo ing bodies, ansla ion om Zu Elek odynamik beweg e Kö pe , in Annalen de Physik. 17 (1905):891, in The P inciple o Rela i i y, Me huen and Company, L d. o London, 1923. 6 Niels Boh , Na u e, 14 (1928):580; Como Lec u es, Collec ed Wo ks, Vol. 6, Ams e dam: No h-Holland, 1985. José Nunes Ramalho C oca 143 Ne e heless, e en wi h all i s concep ual con adic ions, hese wo fi elds o physics we e applied, wi h ela i e success, du ing all he wen- ie h cen u y. Happily, he end o he las cen u y and he beginning o he wen y- fi s cen u y ga e ise o a new hope o a mo e gene al epis emic unifi ca ion, no only o physics bu also o all sciences. Recen esul s, coming om e y accu a e and igo ous expe imen s, ha e shown o e idence he sup eme need o a new pa adigm. In he fi eld o ela i i y, he disco e y o supe luminal eloci ies7 indica es clea ly he necessi y o change. On he o he hand, in quan um mechanics i was shown8 ha i s basic co ne s one o i , he amous ela ions o Heisenbe g, ailed o be adequa e o desc ibe ce ain quan um phenomena such as he wo king o he new imaging de ices. The esolu ion a ained in p ac ice by hese new imaging de ices, he supe - esolu ion mic oscopes9, goes a beyond he each o Heisenbe g ela ions. The de elopmen o his body o knowledge — classical physics, ela i i y, and quan um mechanics — was mainly based on mainly based on he linea Ca esian amewo k in which he whole is equal o he sum o he cons i uen pa s and, u he mo e, he eac ion is p opo ional o he ac ion. In his way o looking a na u al phenomena wha is assumed is he absolu e gene al alidi y o he p inciple o supe posi ion, he scale in a iance and he infi ni e di ision, whe e ue eme gence has no place. Now, o be e unde s anding Na u e, a e y sho ime scales and spa ial scales, a a deepe le el – in o de o o e come he diffi cul ies posed by he Ca esian linea me hod – i is necessa y o de elop new mo e gene al app oaches o physics. 7 See o ins ance: G. Nim z, A. Ende s and H. Spieke , Wa e and Pa icle in Ligh and Ma e , ed. by Van de Me we and A. Ga uccio, New Yo k: Plenum, 1993; G. Nim z, Phys. Re B 47 (1993):9605; A. Ende s Recami, Found. Phys. 31 (2001):1119. 8 J.R. C oca, Towa ds a Nonlinea Quan um Physics, London: Wo ld Scien ifi c, 2003; J.R. C oca, “Expe imen al Viola ion o Heisenbe g’s Unce ain y Rela ions”, alk a he 5 h UK Con e ence on he Concep ual and Philosophical P oblems in Physics, a Ox o d, Sep . 1996; J.R. C oca, Had onic Jou nal 22, 1999:29-39 ; J.R. C oca and F. Selle i, Comm. Ma h. Theo . Physics, ol. 2 (1999):61-69. 9 G. Binning and H. Rohe , Re iews o Mode n Physics, 59 (1987):615; D.W. Pohl, W. Denk, and M. Lanz, Op ical s e hoscope image eco ding wi h esolu ion λ/20, Appl. Phys. Le . Vol. 44, n. 7 (1984):651. The Uni y o Physis 144 In his sense a global nonlinea physics o he complex, he Eu hy hmic Physics, has been ecen ly de eloped1 0 o explain and p edic new expe imen al e idence and, a he same ime, p omo e he ue uni y o all domains o physics. Na u ally, we mus be awa e ha his new physics o he complex in any way denies he g ea achie emen s o adi ional physics, classical physics, ela i i y and quan um mechanics. A hei scales o applicabili y hey we e, and s ill a e, e y good heo ies. Wha is w ong is he naï e belie ha hese adi ional heo ies, me e human cons uc ions, buil a a ce ain ime om expe imen al e idence, seen wi h he concep ual ools hen a ailable, a e he las , he fi nal and defi ni i e heo ies. 2. Eu hy hmic Physics He e we shall b iefl y p esen he undamen als o he nonlinea phys- ics o he complex. Eu hy hmic Physics was de eloped based on fi e basic assump ions. They a e he e called assump ions no pos ula es, as com- monly exp essed in ela ion o o he heo ies, because we a e qui e awa e hey a e no mo e han simple assump ions. Ne e heless, he ad an age o hese assump ions lies in he conc e e ac ha hey will allow he de el- opmen o a new mo e gene al and global unifi ed physics. This new mo e gene al physics no only pe mi s us o be e unde s and and in eg a e he adi ional linea Ca esian physics bu also allows us o disclose a whole new uni e se o expe imen al and echnological possibili ies... Fi s assump ion: The e is an objec i e Reali y. This eali y is obse e independen . S ill he obse e ecip ocally in e ac s wi h he e y same eali y being modifi ed and, o cou se, modi ying I in a g ea e o lesse deg ee. Second assump ion: The e is a basic physical na u al chao ic medium named he sub- quan um medium. All physical p ocesses ha occu a e eme gences o his na u al chao ic medium. By chao ic medium, i is unde s ood a medium 10 J.R. C oca, Eu hy hmic Physics, o Hype physics, The Uni i ca ion o Physics, Be lin: Lambe , 2015. José Nunes Ramalho C oca 145 The Uni y o Physis in which, in gene al, i is no possible o make p edic ions. This subquan- um medium is, in some way, alike o he Apei on, he indefi ni e medium o Anaximande . The subquan um medium is he ue eal being, he one which exis s by i sel . Thi d assump ion: Physical en i ies, like pa icles and fi elds, a e mo e o less s able o - ganized s a es o he basic chao ic subquan um medium. Fou h assump ion: In gene al, he complex physical en i ies, he pa icles, a e e y com- plex ela i ely s able o ganized s a es o he subquan um medium. They a e composed o an ex ended, ye fi ni e, egion — he he a wa e — and in- side he e is a kind o ela i ely e y small localized s uc u e — he ac on. yy Fig. 2.1 – Ske ch o a complex pa icle. 146 Fi h assump ion: The p inciple o eu hy hmy. This basic o ganizing p inciple, allows he making o ma hema ical p edic ions. I s a es ha he ac on mo es cha- o ically in he he a wa e fi eld ollowing a s ochas ic pa h ha in a e age leads i o he egions we e he in ensi y o he fi eld has g ea e in ensi y. The p inciple o eu hy hmy11 comes om he G eek eu i mia, which is composed by he oo eu plus hy hmy. The p efi x eu s ands o he igh , he good, he adequa e, and hy hmy, o he way, he pa h, he ha - monic mo ion. The composed wo d hus means: he adequa e pa h, he good pa h, he good way, he igh way, he golden pa h, and so on. As i may be easily unde s ood, he p inciple o eu hy hmy is only meaning ul in he con ex o complex sys ems. E en in he limi case o he undamen al ac on, he si ua ion is basically he same. Indeed, e en his minu e en i y is al eady a e y complex o ganized s uc u e o he subquan um medium. The p inciple ells us ha he ac on ansi s om one s a e o he he a wa e fi eld o ano he , bu no in a de e minis ic way. This means ha i is no possible o p edic he u u e s a e o he ac on nei he om he basic heo y no due o he mul iple highly complex in- e ac ions wi h he su ounding medium. This impossibili y o p edic ing he u u e s a e o he ac on, e en in p inciple, is desc ibed h ough a cha- o ic in e ac ion be ween he ac on and he he a wa e fi eld. S ill, one mus be awa e ha i does no s and o an on ological u h bu only o a me e ope a ional p agma ic s a emen . Fu he mo e, in o de o be e cla i y he meaning o he basic assump ions, i should be kep in mind ha he e he concep o chaos e e s o an epis emological chaos and no o an on- ological one. In any case, his basic p inciple ies o desc ibe e y com- plex ecip ocal in e ac ions so ha , e en in p inciple, i is no possible, a leas a his s age o desc ip ion o he physical eali y, o p edic wi h ce ain y he nex ou come. Ye , e en i he e is an inhe en ly p ac ical impossibili y o p edic ing he nex s a e o he ac on, i is ne e heless possible o es ablish an o e all s a is ical endency o p opensi y o he ac on o each he nex s age. This ac na u ally leads o he p ac ical o mula ion o he p inciple o eu hy hmy which has he g ea ad an age o allowing an easy ma hema ical o mula ion. Thus, in his sense, and unde he ecognized app oxima ions, he p inciple o eu hy hmy s a es ha he ac on ansi s om a p e ious s a e o he nex s a e in such a way 11 The G eek name eu hy hmy o he basic p inciple o Na u e was sugges ed o me by my dea iend P o esso Gildo Magalhães. José Nunes Ramalho C oca 147 ha he ansi ion p obabili y is p opo ional o he in ensi y o he he a wa e fi eld. On he o he hand, due o he highly complex nonlinea na u e o he phenomena, om one scale o obse a ion and desc ip ion o he Physics o he nex , i should also be kep in mind ha he p ope ies o new eme - gen complex en i ies — e en i hey a e a composi ion o pa s — canno , in gene al, be de i ed om he p ope ies o he building elemen s. This s a emen is a simple consequence o he ac ha he composi e pa s in- e ac and he e o e modi y hemsel es ecip ocally in a g ea e o lesse deg ee. In such condi ions, he whole, he esul ing eme gen en i y, has p ope ies o i s own. The bes we may aim is o p edic , in ce ain pa icu- la gi en condi ions, he eme gence o a new physical en i y and, i we a e o una e enough, some o hei gene al b oad p ope ies. The p inciple o eu hy hmy is a basic key o he unde s anding o he whole physical wo ld. Indeed, his p inciple has been gene alized by some au ho s12 o include o he sciences, o ins ance biology. 3. Some consequences F om hose assump ions i is possible o de elop Eu hy hmic Physics. The in e es ed eade may check oo no e 10 o pa icula s. In his pape , we shall e e only a ew consequences o his new way o looking a Na- u e. We shall now see ha some e y impo an concep s o adi ional physics, such as Fo ce, Masse and Cha ge, a e indeed no basic undamen- al concep s. They a e simple de i able use ul no ions adequa e only a hei p ope scale o applica ion and desc ip ion o Physis. 12 R.N. Mo ei a, “The C isis in Theo e ical Physics, Science Philosophy and Me aphysics” in J.R. C oca and J.E. A aújo (eds.), A New Vision on Physics, Eu hy hmy, Eme gence and Nonlinea i y, Lisboa: CFCUL, 2010, pp. 255-312; G.M. San os, “On Eu hy hmy as a P inciple o G owing O de and Complexi y in he Na u al Wo ld” in J.R. C oca and J.E. A aújo (eds.), op. ci ., Lisboa: CFCUL, 2010, pp. 1-106. The Uni y o Physis 148 3.1 The concep o o ce The concep o o ce plays a capi al ole in adi ional physics. In- deed, o ces, be i g a i ic, elec omagne ic, o any o he , a e assumed o be he mos basic and undamen al in e ac ions in Na u e. Now, in he physics o he complex, he concep o o ce has a much less impo an ole. Due o he na u e o he complex pa icle, composed o a wa e plus he ac on, he adi ional concep o o ce, be i a ac i e o epulsi e, may be unde s ood in a e y easy and in ui i e way. The he a wa e fi eld o a ela i ely isola ed pa icle has app oxima ely a adial symme y. In hese ci cums ances, he ac on imme sed in his fi eld mo es in a andom way acco ding o he p inciple o eu hy hmy. Since he p obabili y o mo ing in each di ec ion is he same, in a e age, he ac on emains s ill. Fig. 3.1 – Due o he adial symme y o he he a wa e fi eld in ensi y he ac on does no mo e in a e age. When he e happens o be wo pa icles placed in such a way ha he wo he a wa e fi elds o e lap, he esul ing fi eld in ensi y inc eases in he o e lapping egion and consequen ly he adial symme y o he in ensi y p e iously “seen” by he ac a is b oken (see Fig 3.2). In his si ua ion, ac- co ding o he p inciple o eu hy hmy, he ac a na u ally end o app oach each o he . This is wha is commonly called a ac ion, o a ac i e o ce. José Nunes Ramalho C oca 149 Fig. 3.2 – The symme y o he he a wa e fi eld in ensi y is b oken and he ac a end o app oach. I is possible o show13 ha when no e y nea o he cen al posi ions he a e age mo ion o he ac a is app oxima ely desc ibed by he common a ac ion o ce law a ying wi h he in e se squa e o he dis ance. The epulsion, o epulsi e o ce, happens when, due o a nonlin- ea in e ac ing complex p ocess, he wa es o e lap in phase opposi ion. In his case, ins ead o inc easing, he global in ensi y dec eases. In such condi ions, he ac a end, acco ding o he p inciple o eu hy hmy, o d aw apa om each o he . 3.2 The concep o mass and cha ge In adi ional physics, he concep s o mass and cha ge also play a majo ole. In ac , hey ha e been assumed o be he mos basic unda- men al p ope ies o he pa icles. Now in he mo e gene al amewo k o nonlinea physics, hese concep s no longe ha e he same s a us. Indeed, as i was shown2 14, hey a e only seconda y de i able concep s mo e o less adequa e acco ding o he physical si ua ion we wan o desc ibe. In o de o unde s and his las s a emen , i is con enien fi s o analyze b iefl y how he complex pa icle mo es when injec ed in a ela i ely la ge he a wa e fi eld o app oxima e cons an in ensi y. 13 R.N. Mo ei a, op. ci ., pp. 255-312. 2 14 G.M. San os, op ci ., pp. 1-106. The Uni y o Physis