Chapter 11
The Universe
We have seen how SED explores the tiny world of the atom and its components – the subatomic world. This forms the basis of how all things are made. Now we will examine a larger world using these and similar ideas. One that extends from our immediate experience to the biggest of all worlds, the universe, where because it is so big, we need to consider how light with its fields behaves in the farthest extremes of both time and space.
Time and space are matters of dimension
Until now, time has been somewhat ignored in our discussion of the very small. The land of Te. This is possibly because light and its interactions occur in this time frame on a moment-to-moment basis, without significant separation between cause and effect. In that tiny environment, time was not an important factor in itself. This is not the case on the scale of our world and beyond, where moments can stretch into eons and space expands into light years.
What does SED have to say on the topic if time?
Firstly, time is a kind of dimension. Specifically, one dimension. The first in a four-dimensional framework of ideas.
Being only one-dimensional means it can somehow exist everywhere and be so ethereal, for it is nothing other than itself. And yet it exists in all things. However, it too must obey nature’s ultimate rule, the speed of light. SED has already shown how it considers energy to be two-dimensional. In fact energy may be the only truly two-dimensional thing that exists. Think of light and shadow and how this has absolutely no depth at all. Nothing else is like this.
In physics, this is why bosons do not obey the Pauli exclusion principle. They can be stacked on top of one another and yet occupy none of each other’s space because they have none themselves. They don’t need separate quantum numbers because they have no volume to overlap and interact with. They remain forever independent and move at the speed of light.
Time is like this but even more so, possibly because it is only one-dimensional. This makes it the most independent entity in the universe. Nothing affects it other than time itself, through speed and relativity. When we are stationary, we experience time moving at the speed of light. When we move faster and accelerate, time slows down. This is because the time-like aspect of space-time is a constant from our perspective. So much so that if we could somehow reach the speed of light, time would become infinitely slow and stop. This is our perception, but time itself remains constant and flows for itself, always independent. Being linear means it has two directions to travel but follows only one. Maybe it’s because all events must be new and unique.
It remains self-evident that matter, and of course space, are three-dimensional. They exist and build the framework and contents of the universe, our universe, as often has been said before, and we need not say more here.
SED further proposes that consciousness is the only thing that exists in four dimensions. For it observes the real world through its three-dimensional senses, then recalls and considers its response in light of past, present and future requirements with the benefit of time, an extra co-joined single dimension, so essential to consciousness and thought. Nothing else has that entrenched ability to witness and perceive the passage of time. Only a mind and consciousness can do this. All else exists in an endless now that observes no change because it cannot perceive.
The Big Bang
Starting with Hubble, who was the first astronomer to observe the red-shift or changing light from distant stars, we now believe the universe is moving apart everywhere. This is now referred to as the red-shift of distant stars and is like stretching a rubber band which makes the more distant objects separate faster than those close together.
All other astronomical experiments suggest that the space of the universe is expanding everywhere, and we now have the term, the Big Bang and believe it occurred more than 13 billion years ago. Over the largest distance scales this is occurring faster than light itself, however and curiously, this does not mean that matter is moving apart from other matter at this rate. For matter cannot move faster than light. We can only conclude therefore that it is space alone that is somehow expanding, leaving matter[1] where it is. Or where it was made from energy according to the principles set out by SED earlier in this book. Of course matter can be separately moved due to a local force, and it is this movement that must conform to the rules of Newton and relativity. Energy though is not confined, and need not obey these rules because it has zero rest mass and is only two-dimensional.
Can we say though that the earlier universe was denser than it is now or will be in the future? This is difficult to answer for it depends on the relative mix of energy and matter the universe contains, and this can vary in time. SED reasons that at the instant of the start of the Big Bang, there was only energy, and this energy was not confined, allowing the universe to expand extremely rapidly but without matter. Later, as matter was made, possibly its density increased, but likewise the volume of space.
How the creation of matter caused inflation during the early Big Bang
Inflation or rapid expansion of the very early universe has been somewhat of a vexed topic amongst cosmologists. Was it real and how did it happen? Until now, there have been no theories that provide a cause or procedure for this phenomenon, and some physicists doubt whether it actually happened at all.
Using the ideas of SED, we will consider a new mechanism or model of inflation which may account for this temporary and rapid expansion. We know that matter can never expand or move as fast as light, but it can be annihilated, making light again and then go on to be created in some farther place, thus making possible a short and fast expansion of the early universe. This could only happen when it was smaller and much denser than it is today.
However, if inflation is this brief expansion of space in the first fraction of seconds, we ask how can matter be responsible for this activity when SED claims that rotons and all matter actually compress space? We would now like to propose an answer, although it may be based on an as yet unproven hypothesis.
According to SED’s theories, matter certainly compresses space, and this does influence how the older, less dynamic universe behaves on the large scale as we shall later show. However, this has an incredibly puny effect compared to electromagnetism.
Up until now in this book we have mostly been concerned with the creation of matter, but there is also its opposite, annihilation. Very early in the Big Bang when it was energy dense it expanded quickly, and the process of supersymmetry occurred frequently and everywhere. Due to roughly equal amounts of matter and antimatter being randomly created, annihilation was common as both types must have initially been in close proximity. Spin right or left. This produced vast amounts of highly focused radiation as they annihilated and destroyed each other in the narrow frequency range of energetic gamma rays.
This may have provided large quantities of the perfect new and specific kinetic energies to the remaining surrounding particles, causing them to move exactly and in addition fuel the formation of other more complex types of matter such as nucleons. The universe went through a period of rapid growth and change.
For example an electron and its antiparticle, a positron, can collide and be converted into pure energy, usually in the form of two energetic gamma ray photons. In these massive energy bursts neutrinos and other particles such as nucleons were also produced depending on initial energy levels. It is these second generation and highly energetic photons that interact with other surrounding particles that could help provide the environment for inflation and the developing universe. It all happened so quickly.
Figure 33 – Diagram showing inflation of universe during very early stage of big bang. Thanks to NASA Science.
When these reactions occur on a scale such as we had in the start of the big bang, the outcome changed the evolution of the universe. In these first moments, many electrons and positrons were created from the enormous energy density available, because these leptons were the original and simplest type of matter that can be created. They were additionally the most stable. That is until they encountered their antiparticle. And there were plenty of them. Roughly equal numbers of both because a left or right-handed twist was equally likely.
This led to enormous quantities of random energy being consumed firstly as it turned into matter, but then rapidly replaced with a more focused type of radiation as annihilation proceeded. This could have resulted in a kind of coherence effect that fuelled such a large and rapid expansion as we had with inflation. The energy dense universe expanded at the speed of light dure to gamma rays spreading everywhere, but these were then able to interact and create matter in the form of leptons of both types in very distant regions like galaxies and their clusters, so for a short time matter had been moved like light.
It may also be the reason why electrons eventually dominated over positrons, albeit in smaller numbers than the first wave, because one or the other somehow had to win and avoid the race to extinction.
This massive burst of concentrated radiation resulting from lepton’s annihilation could have been the reason why nucleons were produced in a second and subsequential waves of matter production. Protons require two super high-energy gamma rays to collide orthogonally and superpose in a manner slightly different to leptons, and one that needs higher energies, while neutrons additionally require an energetic electron to smash into a proton.
All this extra energy with its dynamic chaos and complexity could have been provided by the radiation released during lepton destruction. Presumably nucleons and antinucleons were also involved in a similar manner, leading to further waves of even higher energy throughout the universe. These waves separated the energy dense from the matter dense stages of the early universe.
It grew.
This period known as the inflationary phase of the big bang is generally accepted as a highly likely event by much of the scientific community working in this field. It helps explain many of the observed phenomena currently witnessed by astronomers and theorised by cosmologists around the world.
As the universe expanded and cooled its energy density dropped, until it was likely that the production rate of matter in the form of leptons and nucleons reduced. However because there were so many in a smaller and much more dynamic space than today, this paved the way for the creation of simple and lighter atoms such as hydrogen and helium which enabled the birth of stars due to the clumping effect of gravity. It was in these stars that more complex and heavier atoms were cooked, eventually allowing life to evolve.
In addition to inflation, there is the issue of matter-antimatter asymmetry.
The universe now appears to be full of matter, but evidently very little antimatter and on this situation the standard model remains silent. It offers no significant reason why one form should have dominated over the other. Perhaps with good reason for this could simply be like the toss of a coin. Meaning a result that occurs as a consequence of many factors, too numerous and complex to explain.
As this inflationary stage progressed during the beginning of time, it allowed matter to re-form and locate in space unavailable to sustained matter. Rapid expansion that accelerated for a while but eventually faded, due to some unknown law. Inflation gradually ended as much of the high energy radiation was used up in the formation of matter. Yet still the universe continued to expand, but not as quickly.
As it did so, it remained radiation rich and highly dynamic with new matter that was formed in a larger and larger volume because of the expansion of light into nothing. This meant each type of matter was increasingly separated from its antiparticle pair.
Anytime that pairs of matter and antimatter came in close proximity led to their mutual annihilation and consequential creation of further gamma rays that had zero rest mass but the perfect frequency for reformation of matter elsewhere. To do this they needed to collide orthogonally and superpose to create new rotons. Any regions that contained significant amounts of opposite pairs of matter and antimatter would rapidly be destroyed and converted to more radiation for another attempt over a larger volume elsewhere.
Possibly this process provides an explanation for inflation and the development of more complex structures throughout the early and expanding universe. This also led to the increased separation of particle-antiparticle pairs and a subsequent reduction in annihilation, but what about the domination of one form of matter over the other? Can SED theory account for this?
It can if it borrows an idea from quantum mechanics. That is the idea of quantum fluctuations, first used by George Smoot in his book, Wrinkles in Time. This basically involves the concept that any tiny variation or uncertainty in the first instants of the big bang become slowly magnified as the universe gets older and bigger to become more like a classical system that can be observed and measured. In his book Smoot mentions the fact that these fluctuations can lead to an unevenness in matter density, eventually allowing the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters between empty space. Similarly, only matter survived on the large scale as its battle with antimatter left larger and larger regions devoid of this form. Any interaction meant mutual annihilation and only one type could ultimately dominate, but which?
The answer was written in the stars.
Mass and the universe
Maybe the early universe was a huge factory for the manufacture of matter. Matter and its consequences became more common everywhere. Matter has the property of mass and there are two aspects to mass that are deeply connected: Firstly, the fact that all objects with mass attract each other, due to what we call gravity and secondly, that any object that has mass has inertia and thus resists acceleration or change in its motion through space.
Science has often asked the question: What is the connection between gravitational mass and inertial mass? How can we account for these two intrinsic phenomena and why are they connected?, Nothing in science has been able to adequately explain why matter has both these properties, and explain what matter really is.
Einstein’s theory of general relativity was a bold attempt, but at the time it was written it was not something the majority of scientists could readily comprehend, let alone the average person. Like much of modern physics, it was very abstract and highly mathematical. Many of the world’s physics graduates cannot clearly explain this complete theory to anyone in words because of this. But that does not mean it was not right. It was right in its own way, but it said nothing about the real reason why matter has inertia - only that matter somehow curves space, and therefore on the large scale this gives rise to gravity.
According to SED, matter is three dimensional. It was the first and only thing in the universe to have this property. While space is also 3-D, it is not an object or thing, being empty or void. And we have seen how the formation of matter compresses space due to the action of the magnetic field in a roton and its curling influence, drawing the two loops together.
These two topics will be further explored in the upcoming section on gravity, and the relationship between gravitational and inertial mass.
[1] We have seen how SED actually says matter compresses space
The Origin of Everything
(Online Edition)
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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.
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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.
