Space, Matter & Energy
The content and dynamics of physical reality
Overview
Matter and energy distributed through space — this is the subject matter of physics in its most comprehensive form. General relativity describes how matter and energy curve the geometry of space; quantum field theory describes how matter and energy exist as excitations of fields that pervade space. Cosmology asks how matter and energy came to be distributed as they are, and where that distribution is heading.
Central Tension
Which of the three is most fundamental? Classical physics treated space as the container and matter as the content, with energy as the property of matter. General relativity elevated space (spacetime) to an active participant, curved by matter and energy. Quantum field theory suggests energy fields are fundamental and matter is just their stable excitation. Some interpretations of physics suggest space itself might be emergent — arising from more primitive quantum relations.
Key Philosophical Questions
- Is space a container for matter and energy, or is it shaped by — and perhaps emergent from — them?
- Could the universe consist of pure energy in space, with no matter — and would it be recognizable as a universe?
- What is "dark matter" and "dark energy" — and do they point to a gap in our understanding of this triad?
- Is space itself a form of energy (vacuum energy, cosmological constant), or is it categorically different?
Schools of Thought
The triad of space, matter, and energy fully describes physical reality; physics is the science of their distributions and interactions.
Matter and energy are excitations of quantum fields pervading space; the distinction between them is context-dependent, not fundamental.
Space, matter, and energy all exist independently and objectively; science progressively uncovers their true nature and relations.
Space is the computational grid, matter is localized stable data, and energy is the dynamic state of the system; all three are aspects of an underlying computation.
Space, matter, and energy are all created realities; their lawful interrelation reflects the rationality of God's creative design.
Synthesis
Space, matter, and energy together compose the totality of what physics studies. The history of physics has been a progressive discovery of how intimately they are intertwined — from Newton's absolute space and material particles, to Einstein's curved spacetime and mass-energy equivalence, to quantum fields as the common substrate of both matter and energy.
Related Dimension Pairs