The Rationale for the Present Book Perhaps the most critical problem facing present-day particle physicistsis to delineate the relationship between classical and quantum systems. This relationship has many facets. Particle-waveduality is one. The concept of the point particle is another. And theconcept of particle mass is yet another. The electron, as the lightest of the charged particles, represents a fundamental "ground state",and many of the essential problems in the murky area between the domainsofclassical and quantum physics can be brought into focus by studyingjust this one particle. Thus the present book is centered on questions that arise in connection with the electron, and in particular with its mass, which has remained an unsolved, and indeed almost unexplored, mystery. Each student ofphysics, beginner and professional alike, has to fashion for himselfa way of thinking about the electron. If, after reading this book, the reader views this topic somewhat differently than before, the efforts of the author will have been amply rewarded. When physicists were confronted with the properties of the electron, they made a conceptualleap into the unknown: they concluded that the electron does not obey classical laws with respect to mechanics (as connected to the spin of the electron), and also with respect to electrodynamics (as connected to the magnetic moment of the electron).

This book offers a new look at the electron. It was the first elementary particle discovered, is probably one of the simplest, and yet is possibly one of the most misunderstood. The author presents here a straightforward classical model that accurately reproduces the main spectroscopic features of the electron, and also its principal quantum aspects. The key to this model is the relativistically spinning sphere, RSS, which has been clamoring for recognition for decades. Although its electrical charge is point-like, the electron itself is Compton-sized, and is composed mainly of non-electromagnetic "mechanical" matter. The bridge between the electron and the other elementary particles is provided by the fine structure constant alpha 1/137, as manifested in the factor-of-137 spacings between the classical electron radius, electron Compton radius, and Bohr orbit radius. An expanded form of the constant alpha leads to equations that define the transformation of electromagnetic energy into electron mass/energy, and, via the electron doorway, to the formation of higher-mass lepton and hadron ground states. An alpha-quantized mass-generation grid extends accurately from the electron all the way to the top quark t, and leads to a corresponding alpha-quantized particle lifetime grid. The mathematics used in these studies is standard, and the calculations are guided by fits to the experimental elementary particle data. This book is written for all scientists who are interested in recent developments in fundamental particle physics.

The electron, discovered in 1897, was found to be a constituent of all atoms. While the nucleus of the atom remains fixed, the electrons are free to move with different amounts of energy. When supplied with more energy, by physical or mechanical means, light is produced when the original energy state is reached. Electrons can easily be removed altogether from the atom as in the case of electric current. This has given rise to our electrical and electronic industries. The associated magnetic field allowed motors and dynamos to be developed. Rapid movement of electrons results in the production of electromagnetic waves, from the longest wavelengths (radio waves) to the shortest wavelengths (gamma rays). This has had a huge impact on our lives in the fields of medicine and telecommunications. A beam of electrons can be directed in the same way as a beam of light. As light can show wave/particle duality so can an electron beam. Its measured wavelength is about the same as X-rays. This means electrons can be diffracted. The famous ‘double-slit’ experiment where a single electron appears to ‘interfere with itself’ cannot be explained by classical physics and so we enter the strange world of quantum mechanics. The birth of the quantum computer is not far away and will be much faster than existing computers. Finally, all chemical reactions are the result of electron movement between reactants.

The Rationale for the Present Book Perhaps the most critical problem facing present-day particle physicistsis to delineate the relationship between classical and quantum systems. This relationship has many facets. Particle-waveduality is one. The concept of the point particle is another. And theconcept of particle mass is yet another. The electron, as the lightest of the charged particles, represents a fundamental "ground state",and many of the essential problems in the murky area between the domainsofclassical and quantum physics can be brought into focus by studyingjust this one particle. Thus the present book is centered on questions that arise in connection with the electron, and in particular with its mass, which has remained an unsolved, and indeed almost unexplored, mystery. Each student ofphysics, beginner and professional alike, has to fashion for himselfa way of thinking about the electron. If, after reading this book, the reader views this topic somewhat differently than before, the efforts of the author will have been amply rewarded. When physicists were confronted with the properties of the electron, they made a conceptualleap into the unknown: they concluded that the electron does not obey classical laws with respect to mechanics (as connected to the spin of the electron), and also with respect to electrodynamics (as connected to the magnetic moment of the electron).

The electron, discovered in 1897, was found to be a constituent of all atoms. While the nucleus of the atom remains fixed, the electrons are free to move with different amounts of energy. When supplied with more energy, by physical or mechanical means, light is produced when the original energy state is reached. Electrons can easily be removed altogether from the atom as in the case of electric current. This has given rise to our electrical and electronic industries. The associated magnetic field allowed motors and dynamos to be developed. Rapid movement of electrons results in the production of electromagnetic waves, from the longest wavelengths (radio waves) to the shortest wavelengths (gamma rays). This has had a huge impact on our lives in the fields of medicine and telecommunications. A beam of electrons can be directed in the same way as a beam of light. As light can show wave/particle duality so can an electron beam. Its measured wavelength is about the same as X-rays. This means electrons can be diffracted. The famous 'double-slit' experiment where a single electron appears to 'interfere with itself' cannot be explained by classical physics and so we enter the strange world of quantum mechanics. The birth of the quantum computer is not far away and will be much faster than existing computers. Finally, all chemical reactions are the result of electron movement between reactants.

A spectroscopic analysis is made of electrons and photons from the standpoint of physical realism. In this conceptual framework, moving particles are portrayed as localized entities which are surrounded by ''empty'' waves. A spectroscopic model for the electron Stands as a guide for a somewhat similar, but in essential respects radically different, model for the photon. This leads in turn to a model for the ''zeron''. the quantum of the empty wave. The properties of these quanta mandate new basis states, and hence an extension of our customary framework for dealing with them. The zeron wave field of a photon differs in one important respect from the standard formalism for an electromagnetic wave. The vacuum state emerges as more than just a passive bystander. Its polarization properties provide wave stabilization, particle probability distributions, and orbit quantization. Questions with regard to special relativity are discussed.

Presenting a realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and, in particular, a realistic view of quantum waves, this book defends, with one exception, Schrodinger's views on quantum mechanics. Johansson goes on to defend the view that the collapse of a wave function during a measurement is a real physical collapse of a wave and argues that the collapse is a consequence of quantisation of interaction. Lastly Johansson argues for a revised principle of individuation in the quantum domain and that this principle enables a sort of explanation of non-local phenomena.