What is a Field? Part 1: Classical Fields - Alas Lewis & Barnes

What is a Field? Part 1: Classical Fields

Welcome to Alas Lewis & Barnes, a "conversation" about the universe between two cosmologists. Always sciency, sometimes funny, never boring.

[ByronLina]

Literally teaching this today (well, remote learning preparing a video for my students). Perfect timing and a great explanation.

[robbabcock_]

Wow! This is perhaps your best video yet!

[CarolynFahm]

Going deep into the nature of and existence of fields and thereby what physics is and is not. Brilliant discussion, a privilege to be able to sit in and listen as two great minds discuss this fundamental concept.

[empireempire]

As a (molecular) biologist, it never ceases to amaze me how much physicists fight against attempts to describe better what things are. This is not an abstract or academic or 'philosophical' question at all!

[EmergentUniverse]

This is a great episode. Keep thinking about point charges. Specifically, the electrino -e/6 and the positrino e/6. So your fields ARE real in my opinion and they wiggle all the electrinos and positrinos especially locally. And then those wiggles will propagate outwards in THEIR fields and our original point charge will sense those and wiggle. Of course there is attenuation happening. By the way, are you receiving my comments and are they interesting?

[danojc]

If I survive this Virus I'll buy your book.

[asimdahal]

Energy is conserved in cosmology! It is a brute fact that the gravitational field has energy as evident by the detection of GW.

[harry_page]

I've often wondered how causality is factored into field calculations. A level physics never dared venturing near that; the field is always a static thing there.

[AndyMillerPhotoUK]

IF fields "exist" for all Force Carriers (Bosons) -- One field per force carrier which do not interact -- What are the "field(s)" carried in -- something, nothing or we don't know ? I am aware that that the vacuum energy of such fields is one potential source of dark energy.
Is the Electro-Magnetic field - one field or many -- i.e. is the field that carries/transmits magnetism combined with the field which carried/transmits photons combined with electric charge "field"?
I understand we do not understand gravity or beyond finding a particle Higgs we do not know what the Higgs field is or how it works.
I am aware that using Aether will set hares running - but it "feels" like the current generation fields are heading in a similar direction

[Max_Flashheart]

A Field is where the Electric Sheep Graze

[David-dibo]

I imagine they went to the pub, and right now they are in the street in front of it, drunkenly punching one another shouting "fields are real" .... "no they're not!" .... "Yes they are!"