Reactive Substrate Theory (RST) Interpretation of “Why Do Magnets Work?
RST Interpretation of “Why Do Magnets Work?”
The video explains magnetism using the standard Quantum Field Theory (QFT) framework: electrons exchange virtual photons, spins align, and electromagnetic forces arise from field interactions. Reactive Substrate Theory (RST) accepts the mathematical predictions but rejects the ontology. Where QFT invokes fields and virtual particles, RST describes magnetism as the interaction of coherent tension‑patterns within a single universal Substrate.
1. Magnetism as Substrate Tension‑Geometry
In QFT, magnets attract or repel because electrons exchange virtual photons. In RST, no particles are exchanged. Instead, magnetic forces arise from how rotational tension‑patterns in the Substrate reinforce or oppose each other.
Magnetic attraction occurs when two Substrate resonance domains interlock, reducing total tension. Repulsion occurs when their tension‑patterns conflict, forcing the Substrate to redistribute tension outward.
2. Spin Alignment as Resonance Coherence
The video describes ferromagnetism as electrons aligning their spins. RST reframes this: spin alignment is the formation of a coherent Substrate resonance domain. Iron supports this coherence; copper does not. Magnetic domains are not “electron spins” but synchronized tension‑patterns.
3. No Distance, No Time, No Exchange Particles
QFT explains magnetic forces as interactions across distance mediated by virtual photons. RST rejects distance and time as fundamental. The Substrate is not embedded in spacetime — spacetime is the macroscopic appearance of Substrate tension‑geometry.
Thus, magnetism is not a force acting across space. It is a local adjustment of Substrate tension that appears to propagate through space and time because observers experience the illusion of spacetime generated by the Substrate.
4. RST Summary of Magnetism
Magnetism is the interaction of coherent rotational tension‑patterns in the Substrate. Attraction and repulsion arise from how these patterns reinforce or oppose each other within the Substrate’s tension‑geometry. No virtual photons, no particle exchange — only Substrate dynamics.
Glossary Entry: Magnetism (RST)
Magnetism
Magnetism (RST)
A macroscopic expression of rotational tension‑patterns in the Substrate.
Magnetic fields correspond to organized, coherent regions of Substrate resonance.
Attraction occurs when two resonance domains reduce total tension by aligning;
repulsion occurs when their tension‑patterns conflict and force redistribution.
In RST, magnetism is not a fundamental force and does not involve particle exchange. It is a geometric consequence of how the Substrate stabilizes and balances tension.
Diagram Description: Magnetic Tension‑Patterns
Magnetic Tension‑Pattern Diagram (Description)
Imagine the Substrate as a continuous medium with swirling tension‑flows.
A magnet creates a toroidal (donut‑shaped) rotational tension‑pattern around itself.
These flows loop from one pole to the other, forming a closed resonance structure.
When two magnets attract, their toroidal tension‑patterns interlock smoothly, forming a larger, lower‑tension combined structure. When they repel, their tension‑patterns collide, creating a high‑tension boundary that forces the Substrate to push the magnets apart.
This diagram would show:
- toroidal tension‑loops around each magnet
- smooth interlocking loops for attraction
- compressed, clashing loops for repulsion
- a continuous Substrate medium with no empty space
The key idea: magnetic “field lines” are not lines at all — they are stable rotational tension‑flows in the Substrate.
Follow‑Up Article: Why Virtual Photons Don’t Exist in RST
QFT explains electromagnetic forces by invoking virtual photons — temporary, unobservable particles exchanged between charges. RST rejects this entirely. Virtual photons are not physical entities; they are mathematical artifacts of perturbation theory.
1. Virtual Photons Are Not Real
Virtual photons cannot be detected, measured, or isolated. They violate energy conservation, exist only within integrals, and disappear when using non‑perturbative methods. RST treats them as bookkeeping devices, not physical objects.
2. Substrate Tension Transfer Replaces Photon Exchange
In RST, what QFT calls “photon exchange” is actually the continuous redistribution of tension within the Substrate. No particles travel between charges. The Substrate adjusts its tension‑geometry to maintain stability.
3. Forces Are Not Mediated Across Distance
Because spacetime is emergent, not fundamental, there is no “distance” across which a force must act. All interactions occur within the Substrate itself, which is not located in space or time.
Thus, the idea of a particle traveling between two objects is meaningless. The Substrate simply changes state.
4. RST Explanation of Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is a mode of Substrate behavior — a rotational tension‑pattern that stabilizes around charged configurations. The Substrate enforces tension limits, redistributes stress, and forms coherent resonance structures that appear as electric and magnetic fields.
5. Final Statement
Virtual photons do not exist. Magnetism and electromagnetism arise from the geometry of Substrate tension, not from particle exchange.
Electric Charge
Electric Charge (RST)
Not a fundamental property of particles, but a specific asymmetry in a Substrate tension‑pattern.
What QFT calls “positive” and “negative” charge correspond to opposite rotational or divergence modes
of Substrate tension. These modes create stable tension‑gradients that appear as electric fields.
Charge is not a thing an object “has.” It is the way a particular Substrate resonance twists, rotates, or displaces the surrounding tension‑geometry. Attraction and repulsion arise from how these tension‑patterns reinforce or cancel each other within the Substrate.
Spin
Spin (RST)
A stable internal rotation mode of a Substrate tension‑pattern.
Spin is not literal rotation in space, nor an intrinsic quantum number.
It is a geometric property of how a resonance circulates tension within the Substrate.
Different spin states correspond to different rotational symmetries of the tension‑pattern. When many atomic SRGs align their internal rotation modes, they form coherent resonance domains — the RST explanation for magnetism and ferromagnetic behavior.
Resonance
Resonance (RST)
A self‑reinforcing oscillation pattern of the Substrate.
Atoms, electrons, photons, and bound states are all resonances —
stable configurations where Substrate tension oscillates in a repeating, self‑consistent geometry.
