Model Basis 3 - Scales, Force Names, Mediators

Forces, Scales, and Mediators – A “Meta Table” of Physics

Idea: Instead of calling everything “gravity”, we should speak more precisely about energy and momentum – and about which force dominates on which scale between which entities. This clears up many apparent contradictions.

Introductory Considerations

• Universal vs. selective. Gravitation couples (in Einstein’s view) to everything that carries energy/momentum. Other forces couple selectively (to electric charge, color charge, weak isospin/hypercharge).
• Range. Long-range (gravity, electromagnetism) vs. short-range (strong: confinement/pionic residual force; weak: massive W/Z).
• Scale hierarchy. Which force “matters” depends strongly on length scale: fm (nucleus) → Å (atom) → nm–µm (molecules/material) → km…pc…Mpc (astro/cosmos).
• “Mass.” Rest mass is a particle property; the mass of a bound system includes binding/field energy (e.g., proton: most of its mass from QCD binding energy, not bare quark masses).
• Effective theories. On each scale we use an effective description (chemistry: EM bonds; nuclei: strong residual force; celestial mechanics: gravity), even though “below” that other degrees of freedom exist.
• Terminology. We do not call every attraction “gravity,” because “gravity” by definition refers to spacetime curvature (spin-2, universal, long-range) – fundamentally different from QCD (SU(3), color charge, confinement).
• Galactic scales Even on the level of Galaxies and the attraction between galaxies modern physics stays with the “main force” being called gravity. Instead we propose the main attraction between galaxies is galixity, the force between two rotating galaxies. Or if you prefere we might also call it “Dark Matter”.

Master Table: Entities, Scales, and Forces

The Four Known Fundamental Forces (Summary)

Photons

The photon itself is not listed as a separate entity in our table. Why is that? A photon can actually have any arbitrary size and exists on all levels of sizes (wavelengths). It is a rotation soliton in the LEDO-Field (Localized Energy Dencidy Oscillation, described elsewhere) of arbitrary size - even in the size of a solar-system.

Gluons vs. Photons – What’s the Difference?

At first glance, both are massless gauge bosons and mediators of fundamental interactions. But their properties diverge sharply:

• Charge:

  • Photon carries no electric charge. It only couples to charges, but does not interact with itself.
  • Gluon carries color charge. It can interact with other gluons directly (self-interaction).

• Range:

  • Photon mediates a long-range 1/r² force (in vacuum).
  • Gluon is confined: due to self-interaction, the force does not fall off simply with distance but becomes stronger with separation (confinement).

• Observability:

  • Photon: free particle, stable, directly observable.
  • Gluon: never observed freely; only within hadrons.

• Mathematical symmetry:

  • Photon arises from U(1) gauge symmetry (abelian).
  • Gluon arises from SU(3) (non-abelian), leading to much richer dynamics.

In short: photons mediate a transparent, universal long-range interaction; gluons mediate a self-coupled, short-range interaction that builds the structure of hadrons.

Why Not Call Everything “Gravity”?

• Definition precision: “Gravity” refers to spacetime curvature (geometry). QCD/EM/weak are gauge theories with entirely different symmetries.
• Universality: Gravity couples to all energy forms; the others only to specific charges → very different selection rules.
• Range & signature: Gravity is (for normal matter) always attractive and long-range; EM can be attractive/repulsive; strong binds only at fm scales.

“Mass” Without Confusion

• Particle rest mass (e.g. electron 0.511 MeV) is an intrinsic property.
• System mass includes binding and field energy (proton ≈ 938 MeV, although the sum of bare quark masses is far smaller).
• Photons are massless, but carry energy/momentum → curve spacetime (gravitational lensing).
• On atomic scales gravity is negligible compared to EM (F_EM / F_Grav ~ 10⁴² between electrons) – not because electrons “lack mass,” but because of the brutal hierarchy of strengths.

Open Questions and Ambiguities

• “Size” of pointlike particles: experiments set upper limits (≲ 10⁻¹⁸ m). “Extension” here means effective scale (form factors, resolution).
• Dark matter / energy: phenomenologically gravitational; microphysics unknown.
• Quantum gravity: no confirmed theory (loop, string, asymptotic safety…). On micro scales “gravity” remains conceptually open.
• Fifth forces / deviations: precision tests set strong bounds; so far, no signal.
• Everyday “mass”: often conflated with “weight” (gravitational force). In this table, “rest energy/mass” is strictly particle-physics defined.

Handy Scale-to-Force Cheat Sheet