THE NATURE OF CHARGE

Once the dimensions of mass have been determined as L³, the dimensions of charge easily follow from the dimensional equivelance of inertial and electrostatic forces. i.e.

This would imply that electric charges are sources and sinks of space itself. This is entirely consistant since the principals of the source and sink (S-S) concept was used in the basic mathematical development of the electric flux and the divergance of the induction vector.

A major implication of the S-S concept is that mass cannot exist independantly of charge and visa versa. The first arises since mass is defined as an electromagnetic reaction and the second since a massless charge implies a zero particle radius and hence an infinate field strength at the surface.

The first question that arises is where does the flow of space come from and where does it go? This implies at least one more dimension. Physicists should have no problem with this since modern Superstring theory requires no less than 10 dimensions! One interesting possibility is that the added dimension is time itself. Sources tie to the future and sinks tie to the past.

The second question is whether the proton is the source or sink. Intuitively, sinks should tend to cling together when brought sufficiently close. Sources should never do this. For the time being, it will be assumed that protons are sinks and electrons are sources. It will also be assumed that protons repel each other at greater distances due to the force of the spatial flow into both charges. The protons will tend to move in the direction of least resistance which is in the direction of greater spatial availability.

The third question concerns itself with the neutron which apparently has slightly more mass than the proton but has no apparent charge. If we are to believe that mass is a result of electromagnetic action, then we must believe that the neutron consists of a proton and electron in close proximity since a neutrally charged mass is inconsistant with the S-S approach. In addition, free neutrons have a finite life whereas free electrons and protons apparently last forever.

The fourth question is what determines the radius of the particle? At first glance, we might expect this to be determined by the maximum radial velocity at the surface of the particle. Intuitively, this would be the speed of light. However, when we make this assumption, we come up with the result that, for equal magnitudes of charge, the source and sink should posess the same radius and hence the same mass. Obviously, this is incorrect. It is suggested that the effective surface of the particle is determined by the point where space can no longer be compressed. This point should be different for a sink, with space trying to flow inward to a small surface, as opposed to a source where space is freely expanding from a small surface.

One other point that may have been missed. Since mass and charge are both dimensioned in length and time, the entire dimensional structure becomes one of space-time!