Part Two: Time, Space and Motion¶
Core Argument¶
In Part Two of the chapter, the dialectical movement of scientific knowledge is traced through the history of light and matter theory, demonstrating that the search for ultimate particles is a metaphysical illusion. The particle theory of light, dominant after Newton, was negated by Fresnel’s wave theory, a shift confirmed by Foucault’s experiment showing light travels slower in water. Maxwell’s field theory and Hertz’s detection of electromagnetic waves seemed to annihilate the particle conception entirely. However, Planck in 1900 revealed that classical wave theory made unverified predictions, forcing the recognition that light comes in discrete quanta. The two-slot experiment, in which a single electron passes through both holes and produces an interference pattern, proves that the electron behaves simultaneously as particle and wave. This negates the negation: Newton’s particle theory was negated by Maxwell’s wave theory, which was then negated by Planck and Einstein’s quantum theory—not as a simple return, but as a qualitative leap. Einstein demonstrated that light behaves like a particle and bends under gravity; de Broglie extended this, showing that matter partakes of wave nature. Matter and energy are identical: mass is a concentrated form of energy, expressed by E = mc². The law of conservation of energy holds universally; matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed.
The repeated failure to find ultimate “bricks of matter” is a central theme. Each candidate—the atom, the proton—has been shown to have internal structure. The discovery of over 150 hadrons created confusion, until Murray Gell-Mann postulated quarks as more basic particles, theorising six types alongside six leptons, making twelve fundamental particles. Yet these still exhibit contradictory qualities, such as positive and negative fractional charges, consistent with the dialectical law of the unity of opposites. Despite all experience showing no limit to matter, some scientists persist in searching for ultimate building blocks. Claims that the quark is the final, structureless piece of matter repeat earlier claims made for the atom and proton. The present inability to determine the quark’s properties does not prove it has no structure; future analysis will likely reveal deeper levels. The whole of previous experience indicates that the dialectical advance of human knowledge is as endless as the infinite universe.