Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Apr 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980amsci..68..154g&link_type=abstract
American Scientist, vol. 68, Mar.-Apr. 1980, p. 154-164.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
3
Ultrahigh Vacuum, Vacuum Systems, Black Holes (Astronomy), Electromagnetic Fields, Electromagnetic Interactions, Elementary Particle Interactions, Gravitational Effects, Quantum Theory
Scientific paper
Recent findings which lead to a revised concept of the vacuum as a physical object which can be modified under certain conditions are discussed. The development of the concept of the vacuum in philosophy and physics is outlined, and the concepts of quantum fields and their interactions are reviewed. The recent definition of the vacuum as the lowest stable state that a region of space can have while being penetrated by certain fields is presented, and the breakdown of the neutral vacuum in strong electric fields by particle creation is considered in order to demonstrate the definition. The stabilization of the vacuum is shown to be impossible by considerations of a limiting electromagnetic field strength, and quasi-molecules formed during heavy-ion collisions are presented as a feasible experimental system for observing the breakdown of the neutral vacuum. The breakdown of the vacuum in the presence of a strong gravitational field is then considered in relation to processes around black holes, and practical consequences of the new definition of the vacuum are indicated.
Greiner Walter
Hamilton James
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