SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

WEIRD SCIENCE

Wow! Evidently, I should reset my amazement gauge as soon as possible. What was to come promised to be even more intriguing.

However, before I continue with my narration, I think it is appropriate to share with the reader one of the questions that was wandering in my mind, which in the end, I didn't ask—the answer came to me right at that instant.

Here's the question:

Why the control of the interactions of atomic particles would be able to unchain such a powerful revolution in terrestrial technology to the point that a change in the course of civilization would be provoked?

The answer is as unusual as the question itself: to control the interactions of atomic particles would mean, in the last resort, to control a great amount of natural phenomena.

Even more, it would also assume the creation of new phenomena that current science could not even dream of...

I have to make clear that Darwin had as much as I, a general knowledge of the Standard Model* —the subject had been brought up in one of the many sessions with the intriguing Moses Masterton. I think it is not useless to present the following summary of what the doctor explained on that occasion regarding the particles of the atom and their interactions, that way, the reader may get an idea of its vital importance in nature, and above all, may draw his own conclusions to the uncommon possibility of total control of these phenomenona.

Here is, then, the synthesis:

"The Standard Model has demonstrated that quarks and leptons** are the fundamental blocks of matter. There are six types of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom, and six types of leptons: electron neutrino, electron, muon neutrino, muon, tau neutrino.

From these twelve types of fundamental particles, only three are involved in the structure of the atom, knowing:

In the nucleus, two quarks up and one down are combined to form a proton. The other nuclear particle, the neutron, is formed by two quarks down and one up.

In the atom periphery we only find electrons.

Therefore, the atom is essentially formed by only three kinds of particles, quarks up and down, and electrons.

That is, any body in the universe, any object, is basically a combination of quarks up and down and electrons and vacuum. And a huge amount of natural phenomena are, in essence, the result of the way in which these three fundamental particles relate in vacuum.

In other words, a big part of nature is like it is, due precisely to the way quarks up and down and electrons interact among them; they do it in four possible ways:

-strong interaction

-weak interaction

-electromagnetic interaction

-gravitational interaction

This means, there are four fundamental interactions, or since an interaction is ordinarily known as force, we can mention four fundamental forces.

Now, each force is transmitted by a characteristic type of messenger particle, and to experiment the action of the force, or the interaction in question, the material particles must have the appropriate receiver-transmitter to receive and send the messengers.

Let's illustrate the above taking first into account the case of the electron:

The electron experiences the electromagnetic force transmitted by the particles called photons, because it contains the receiver-transmitter called electric charge. The electron also may experience the gravitational force sent by the particles called gravitons*** because it contains the receiver-transmitter called mass-energy****. Likewise, the electron feels the effects of the weak force, sent by the particles W+,W, Z0 because it contains the receiver-transmitter called flavor°.