Chapter 08
Charge and Magnetism
Charge is a concept that we may at first think is well understood and not requiring further investigation. As a source of the electric field, physics only says it is an intrinsic property of certain elementary particles and that it can neither be created nor destroyed. Its fixed absolute value is either positive or negative in whole integer amounts, although somehow it allows quarks to disobey this. Additionally, like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract, because of the electromagnetic force which manifests due to the action of charge. The physics we follow today was originally conceived by scientists such as Faraday and Maxwell in the 18th century. So much of our current technology relies on these ideas, that it is difficult to imagine a world without these concepts. But is this a simplification of a deeper truth?
We tend to believe that charge is like a basic unit or grain of static electricity. It cannot be divided below a certain value, as Millikan showed in 1909, with his experiments on the electron and his verification of its elementary charge. We know we cannot have half an electron, likewise half a unit of charge.
It also happens that the proton has an equal and opposite unit of this absolute charge, and furthermore that both electrons and protons have antiparticle pairs that have opposite charge, although why should this be so? No other values other than these two have ever been confirmed in experiments, not even for quarks. However as soon as we focused and tried to define charge accurately, its true meaning became slippery and elusive. Like time, there were no real counterparts for the definition of charge.
And what about magnetism? This is something most people associate with compass needles and fridge magnets. Some kind of gluey stuff that can attract or repel without actually touching anything.
While we don’t often get the opportunity to directly experience static electric charge, other than possibly with a plastic comb pulling slightly on our hair, a magnet is something we’ve all played with and felt its invisible force act in space. For some people, especially children, it is so real and tangible yet wonderful and fascinating. But how can a magnet do that and what makes our hair stand up straight? Once again, the answer lies in the structure of our roton and the spin or angular momentum of its electromagnetic fields.
Angular momentum in the sense that charge and magnetism are directly caused by fixed genuine spin. Like night and day being directly connected to angular momentum on earth, due to its constant spin and light from the sun. Sometimes there is a direct connection between what were once considered unrelated ideas. For instance, we now know that temperature is a measure of atomic and molecular vibration, but science did not originally suspect this. However, many things are like that, and we now know this is especially true of electricity and magnetism. For they are intimately connected to each other, even more so than physics currently suspects. Our model shows how.
This book proposes a new approach to our understanding of how these two things were created and what it means to physics. It follows from papers originally written by me, as well as Qui-Hong Hu (The Nature of the Electron [1]) and Williamson and Van Der Mark (Is the Electron a Photon with Toroidal Topology? [5]). I thank them again for their contribution and diagrams included here.
The origin of charge
A photon consists of rapidly rotating electric and magnetic fields in two dimensions, creating each other as it moves in a straight line through space at speed c. It moves in a kind of helix or spiral, but it has no charge because its flat circular shape means the two half cycles of electric field have opposite phase and orientation in space-time and so cancel each other out after each full wave. This is not the case though for the rotons of charged particles.
It may help to understand how, if we imagine twisting the second half cycle of a wave upside down. This twist turns a crest and a trough into two crests or two troughs, depending on its direction, clockwise or anticlockwise. Similarly, our model shows that a roton creates either inward or outward fields from a twisted E-M wave. (Note: As we often say, a demonstration model such as the marked-up strip is a very useful aid in following this explanation).
Fundamental particles are 3-D solitons that have a roton in their structure. It is this unique shape with its two loops created through angular momentum and twist that makes charge and magnetism. Moving from one loop to the next, the electric and magnetic fields turn back on themselves, as they conserve their spin. Each loop consists of a half-cycle that inverts the phase of the fields after every full rotation. Consequently, their fields signs (i.e. +ve or -ve) with respect to space do not change or become opposite like those of the flat photon. They still generate each other and behave according to Maxwell's equations yet remain confined in space with a permanent sense both pointing continuously inward or outward from their hemisphere, creating positive or negative charge. This continues unabated for the life of the soliton.
Figure 12 - A photon moving in the Roton or Hubius Helix path creates charge. Modified from Williamson and Van Der Mark
The top drawing here in Figure 12 shows a single cycle of a normal E-M wave, then, with the effect of a 3600 clockwise twist drawn below it. Due to this twist, our model shows that the E-field is always pointing inward at 90° to the path's motion (opposite or out for an anticlockwise twist), thus giving it what we call charge, here shown in the lowest drawing as the up and down E-field arrows, both pointing inward (outward for opposite twist in antiparticles). This is divergence as the field emanates either in or out of a tiny, closed surface and it shows that the roton’s spinning E-field creates charge and not vice versa.
Charge can only form in a roton with its unique shape that turns the field back on itself, twice each cycle. Consequently, any fundamental particle that has a roton in its structure may possess charge. However, this initial twist could have been reversed creating an antiparticle with opposite charge, but once formed, this can never change. All other properties of particle and antiparticle remain the same.
Note: A neutron is an exception and displays no charge because probability allows two virtual yet opposite rotons to form its soliton and these cancel out this effect, as shown later in the section on the atom.
This means that what we call charge and magnetic moment are actually constructs of the standing E and B-fields, always oriented either in or out though the soliton and into space.
So, charge is the result of the [12]rapid and sustained vibration of the E-field’s standing wave over the same tiny continuous path. It is not a thing in itself, but actually the ratio of the force and the electric field strength that produces that force. This ratio can never change and that is why it is a constant or absolute.
Thus, our model shows that there is no need to hypothesise that charge is an intrinsic property of a point particle, with all the difficulties such an approach entails. Here charge comes about naturally, due to the ongoing behaviour of the E-M field trapped in our soliton The E-field emanates either in or out of the roton, always being in the same direction in both loops. This creates a permanent positive or negative charge, due to the divergence of the E-field. The twist can be either clockwise or anticlockwise but can never change once a particle is created. This is how charge is conserved. The twist is due to the Fine Structure Constant, or α, and has a value of plus or minus αh, depending on spin direction. In units of h it is α or ~137th of Planck’s Constant. A very small number and a very unlikely number. In the soliton, the normally straight-line path of the field is curled by αh once per cycle. Small and unlikely indeed. But that’s all it takes. And it’s so unlikely that it’s impossible to copy. We only have as many as were created in the Big Bang.
This gives us a structural basis for two of Maxwell’s laws. The first law concerns divergence, meaning that if an electric field emanates from an enclosed surface, that surface must contain a charge. Here we invert this principle and say that yes, we have a charge, but it is created by fields. The second law states that a magnetic monopole cannot exist. SED agrees and contends that there are always two loops inside a roton, with the magnetic field passing through both and forming two opposite poles. This is magnetism and it is created in the roton, as we will discover now.
The origin of magnetism
All magnets are dipoles, and by definition, a magnetic dipole must have two opposite poles separated by a certain distance. Our SED model explains how magnetism arises through the structure of the roton and that magnetic poles, like charge, are a consequence of the soliton’s dynamic field structure and not a cause.
If we examine Figure 13 below, we see that magnetic field direction is opposite in each loop. This creates two different poles, that we call Nth and Sth. Each loop acts as a magnetic monopole but cannot exist independently. We always have two. Furthermore, using geometry, if the radius of a loop is r, then the centres of each loop are separated in space by r√2. Thus, we have a dipole with a fixed magnetic moment. The roton creates a permanent magnet and all fundamental particles have a magnetic moment that can exist in either one of two opposite states, due to the two different magnetic directions through the soliton.
Only with an external interaction, is it possible to change the state of a roton by turning it inside-out, like inverting an umbrella. We find this reverses the magnetic field direction but not its charge, for this is always conserved.
Magnetic attraction from opposite poles makes the path bend at its centre with a specific angle of 90° between the loops. This gives the soliton the shape of a bent lemniscate draped over a hemisphere, as shown in the introduction above. We will see later how this gives rise to gravity.
Figure 13 – Roton view from above
Figure 14 – Roton viewed end-on or side view
It is interesting to observe our model from different orientations. If we look at it from above, field energy flow is clockwise in one loop and anticlockwise in the other. From this perspective, the right-hand rule for magnetism means that their poles are opposite or Nth in one and Sth in the other. Viewed end on, we find field rotation appears to spin in the same direction in each loop. That is, either both clockwise or both anticlockwise, thus providing a continuous magnetic field direction through the loops and giving the particle an overall magnetic moment.
How charge works according to fields
In the following discussion and due to the importance this book places on fields rather than their consequence, charge, it may be necessary to restate a common rule of physics and bring it in line with these new insights. The rule has always been: Equal charges repel, and opposite charges attract. A better statement would be: Equal fields attract, and opposite fields repel. The next diagram explains why this is so.
Figure 15 - Electromagnetic forces are due to the fields interactions in space and not charge centres themselves.
The diagram above shows that attractive and repulsive forces actually arise between charged particles due to the interaction of the electric fields in the space surrounding them. It is not due to the particles or charges themselves. The field’s interaction is the inverse of what we normally associate with charge: That is, equal fields attract, and opposite fields repel.
Equal fields (i.e. those having the same direction and magnitude in space) are found in the space between two opposite charges. This causes attraction because the energy flow in each soliton is spinning in the same direction. Thus, there is no conflict with their relative spin speed exceeding c, and they attract each other. The reverse is the case for equal charges, when this relative flow direction is opposite between them, and so close charges repel to avoid a conflict with the maximum speed of light. All this will be explored in greater detail in the upcoming section on the atom.
We need to repeat that charge is not in itself a force, just the measure of a constant ratio: the strength of force to field. That is why the proton’s charge is the same as the electron’s despite the fact that, due to its greater mass, its fields and associated forces are both many times bigger. Inside the nucleus, they are nearly 2000 times larger than those of an electron, but the force to field ratio (i.e. charge) stays constant for both. Consequently, there is an enormous amount of energy locked up inside the nucleus compared with the rest of an atom.
It is also the reason why quarks cannot exist – fractional charge is not possible. How could this ratio change? Quarks were only hypothesized to try and explain the anomalous magnetic moment of nucleons and for some time had no opposition. But SED has a possible answer for this anomaly and consequently has no need for quarks anyway. We discuss this further in the section on problems with the standard model.
Fields and magnetism
Referring back to figure 12 above, we see that while the electric field always points either into or out of both loops of the roton, the magnetic field is opposite in each loop no matter what the direction of spin. One loop creates what we call a north pole and the other a south pole, with a fixed distance separating them. This forms a magnetic dipole, and all magnets are dipoles. The roton is the ultimate structure that provides the root cause for magnetism, through the action of its fields. Always with two opposite loops, it is also the physical reason why magnetic monopoles can never exist. Rotons cannot be cut in half. The fundamental E-M wave forming them is a kind of quantum that always has two opposite components in one cycle. Like endless Yin and Yang.
So, we see that the electric field has diversion because it points in the same direction, either into or out of the roton in each loop. According to Maxwell’s laws it therefore acts as a source of charge. However, for the magnetic field, this diversion is zero due to opposite poles in each loop. Magnetic field lines circulate outside the roton from the north pole to the south but continue internally from south back to the north pole. They are continuous with no source or beginning.
Like electric charge, there is no thing called a magnetic dipole that exists in and of itself. It is simply a construct of the E-M field existing in its two opposite states, just like everything else is. Its basic or minimum value is the Bohr Magneton which is described and calculated in the next section on the electron.
[12] The path is so small and the frequency so high, that the resulting charge appears constant. However, it can portray a tiny trembling effect, known as Zitterbewegung, that can be picked up in sensitive experiments.
The Origin of Everything
(Online Edition)
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09 - The Electron
In this chapter, the structure of the electron is revealed. Made from two gamma-ray photons colliding at right angles, their energy locks into a spinning loop called a roton—a stable, three-dimensional wave. This motion gives rise to mass, charge, and spin, with no need for point particles. The electron is light, folded and locked into form.
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10 - The Atom
This chapter shows how protons, neutrons, and electrons form from light itself, held together purely by the electromagnetic force—no need for a separate “strong force.” Through Structural Electrodynamics, we uncover the physical structure behind charge, spin, fusion, and the stability of matter itself.
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11 - The Universe
From the subatomic to the cosmic, SED extends its insights to the vast structure and evolution of the universe. This chapter explores how time, matter, and space emerged through waves of creation, annihilation, and expansion - guided by electromagnetic fields. A fresh explanation for inflation, antimatter asymmetry, and mass reveals the universe as a dynamic interplay of field-based phenomena.
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12 - What is Gravity?
Gravity isn’t a force - it’s space itself compressing around matter, pulled inward due to its formation. This chapter redefines gravity as a geometric effect caused by the 3D twisting of energy, revealing the true link between mass, spin, and space-time. SED offers a physical explanation Einstein never had, uncovering why gravity is weak, always attractive, and utterly fundamental.
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13 - Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Black Holes
SED suggests that even the darkest forces in the cosmos (black holes, dark matter, and dark energy) emerge from the dynamics of electromagnetic fields. From accelerating expansion powered by ongoing annihilation, to invisible rotons that may comprise dark matter, this chapter offers field-based explanations where standard models fall silent. It even draws a provocative link between black holes and fundamental particles through the fine structure constant, hinting at a cosmic symmetry.
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14 - SED and Maxwell’s Equations
Maxwell’s equations are the foundation of electromagnetism, and SED brings them to life by modeling particles as dynamic, twisting field structures called rotons. Within this framework, electric charge emerges from divergence, mass arises from curl, and the dance between E and B fields sustains both light and matter. The roton isn’t just compatible with Maxwell’s theory - it’s a vivid physical manifestation of it.
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15 - The Fine Structure Constant
Since its discovery in 1916 by Sommerfield, the Fine-Structure Constant, α, has long been a mystery, known precisely but not understood. SED proposes that α represents the ratio between the width of a particle’s electromagnetic path and its overall wavelength, giving physical meaning to this dimensionless number. In this model, particles are structured as twisting electromagnetic fields (rotons), and only a specific internal twist, equal to α, can sustain their stable motion. Thus, α emerges naturally from the geometry of light trapped in matter.
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16 - SED and Spin
An eternal twist woven into the fabric of every particle. SED reveals that this motion isn’t abstract or symbolic, but real angular momentum born from the spiraling dance of light itself. Through the geometry of rotons, matter inherits its spin, mass, and dual magnetic states. What quantum theory once shrouded in mystery, SED brings into view with clarity and elegance.
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17 - Problems with the Standard Model
The Standard Model claims to explain the fundamental particles and forces of nature - but SED challenges its complexity, contradictions, and reliance on unverified entities like quarks and gluons. What if mass, charge, and spin emerge from elegant field structures instead of patchwork theories? This chapter invites you to question the orthodoxy and discover a simpler, more unified picture of the universe.
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18 - Unification of the Four Forces
What if all the forces of nature - gravity, electromagnetism, the strong and weak nuclear forces - were just different expressions of a single phenomenon? This chapter presents SED’s radical proposal: that electromagnetic fields alone are responsible for every interaction in the universe. From the binding of atomic nuclei to the warping of space-time, SED reveals how geometry, spin, and field dynamics replace the patchwork of separate forces. It’s an elegant unification, long sought by physics and perhaps, finally within reach.
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19 - What are de Broglie Waves?
De Broglie’s bold idea that all matter behaves like a wave helped spark the quantum revolution. SED brings it vividly to life. By connecting wave-particle duality to real spinning fields, this chapter reimagines de Broglie waves not as abstract probabilities, but as tangible, physical motion. Discover how the dance of spin, wavelength, and momentum shapes both the quantum and the cosmic.
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20 - What is a Spinor?
Spinors are essential to modern physics, yet their physical meaning has remained obscure for over a century. This chapter explores a new perspective from SED that connects spinors with the structure of matter in a clear and testable way. It shows how their strange properties (like requiring a 720° rotation to return to their original state) can be understood as real features of the particles they describe. The result is a model that links the abstract spinor to the familiar electron, revealing them as one and the same.
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21 - SED and Polarisation
A sine wave is circular motion viewed side-on. Fundamentally light is always spinning. This chapter explores how the orientation of that spin gives rise to different types of polarisation: vertical, horizontal, and circular. SED reveals how aligned spins in photons unlock phenomena from sunglasses to 3D cinema. Discover how polarisation offers a window into the deeper structure of light itself.
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22 - What is a Measurement?
What exactly happens when we measure something? In classical science, measurements were thought to simply reveal fixed properties - but quantum physics reveals a deeper truth: the act of measuring can influence the system itself. This chapter explores how observation collapses possibilities into outcomes, and how uncertainty sets limits on what we can ever truly know. A fascinating look at the fine line between potential and reality.
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23 - What is an Observer?
What does it really mean to observe something in physics and why does it matter? This chapter explores the observer’s role in transforming possibilities into actual events, especially at the quantum scale. From photons emitted one by one to the mysterious collapse of the wave function, it challenges the idea that observation is passive. Is the observer merely watching, or are they fundamentally shaping what unfolds?
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24 - What is Entropy?
Often described as a measure of disorder, entropy is a slippery but fundamental concept shaping our understanding of the universe's fate. From the quiet structure of living systems to the chaotic drift toward cosmic “heat death,” this chapter explores entropy as both a mathematical idea and a deep physical truth. Is energy the driver of disorder? Can entropy itself be stored? These provocative questions are explored further.
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25 - SED and Schrödinger’s Equations
Schrödinger’s equation describes how quantum systems evolve, but SED reveals the physical origin behind the maths: spin. Matter waves aren’t abstract- they emerge from the rotational motion of energy in soliton structures. Spin, encoded in Planck’s constant, is the heartbeat of matter itself. This chapter bridges wave mechanics and real structure, grounding quantum behaviour in electromagnetic motion.
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26 - What is a Neutrino?
Neutrinos are the ghost particles of the universe - abundant, fast, and almost invisible to interaction. SED suggests they are oversized, low-energy rotons with hidden structure and a single unchanging spin. Their mysterious ability to morph between three types may be tied to motion through the three dimensions of space. Could their elusive nature be due to an undetectable charge and giant size? This chapter explores the particle that slips through almost everything, including our understanding.
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27 - What is a Wave and What is Waving?
Are the waves in quantum physics real, or just mathematical ghosts? SED argues they’re electromagnetic through and through - real, measurable, and the very essence of matter. This chapter challenges the Copenhagen view, rooting wave-particle duality in structured energy, not abstract probability. What if potential is more physical than we could imagine?
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28 - Gravitational Mass and Inertial Mass
What makes mass resist motion? And what makes it attract other mass? This chapter explores the link between gravitational and inertial mass, proposing they stem from the same origin: space compression during matter formation. Using the SED framework, it offers a tangible geometric explanation for inertia and gravity, and hints at the futuristic possibility of anti-gravity. Could mastering the geometry of space lead to revolutionary new motion?
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29 - Energy Is Not Quantised
Is energy truly quantised? This chapter challenges a core quantum assumption, proposing that while Planck’s constant (h) is quantised, energy itself flows as a continuum - its apparent granularity an illusion shaped by the frequency of vibration. Photons may arrive in discrete packets, but the underlying fabric of energy can take on any value. What determines a particle’s mass or energy? The search for deeper balance continues.
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30 - Conclusion
A new beginning is formed. From conclusions on the formation of matter, gravity, and the fine structure constant a new picture of the universe has been defined. Where to from here?
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31 - Further Studies
These are the areas where further investigation is needed to complete the Theory of Everything.
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32 - References
Interested in further reading? These are the previous authors and books that helped to form the theories within The Origin of Everything
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Foreword
Before diving into the main content, read here about the motivation behind the book and the big questions it seeks to answer. See who inspired the work, and the thinking that led to this theory, and why it might just change the way we understand the universe.
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01 - Introduction
Modern physics often buries insight under complexity. The theory outlined in The Origin of Everything offers a return to simplicity and a new vision of how the universe is built. Written for curious minds, it presents a bold, unified theory of everything - grounded in known physics, inspired by new insight.
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02 - Structural Electrodynamics (SED)
Here we meet the core concept of the book - Structural Electrodynamics: matter is made from energy loops, not point particles. These loops, called rotons, are electromagnetic structures that trap energy in a spinning, three-dimensional wave - a soliton. SED offers a unified framework that can explain particles, forces, and even gravity from first principles.
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03 - Matter and Energy
This chapter redefines the boundary between energy and matter. Energy flows in flat, fast waves, but when curled into a tight loop, it becomes mass. Using this model, we see that light and matter aren’t opposites but two states of the same underlying field.
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04 - Quantum is Not That Strange
Quantum physics seems weird only when we treat it as separate from classical physics. This chapter shows that if you accept that all particles are waves with structure and spin, the quantum world starts to make intuitive sense. Wave-particle duality and other “mysteries” are natural outcomes of field behaviour.
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05 - Angular Momentum & Planck’s Constant h
Spin is not a quirky quantum property. It's the foundation of all physical motion. Planck’s constant defines the smallest unit of angular momentum, making it the heartbeat of the universe’s structure. Everything spins, and spin defines everything.
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06 - The Uncertainty Principle
The Uncertainty Principle isn’t about fuzziness or confusion. It’s about the deep interconnection between motion and measurement. You can’t perfectly know a particle’s position and momentum at the same time because they're different faces of the same process. This chapter reframes uncertainty as a natural limit of structured fields.
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07 - What are Fields?
Fields are more than mathematical abstractions. They are the basis of all of the physical universe. And there is only one type - Electromagnetic. This chapter lays the foundation for understanding how all energy, matter, and forces emerge from field dynamics.
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08 - Charge and Magnetism
What if charge and magnetism aren’t fundamental points but consequences of something deeper? Here we explore how electromagnetic fields give rise to electric charge and magnetism, opposing the current school of thought. It is the elegant interplay of these dynamic fields within the roton that create all of the forces in nature.
