Generalizing "Charge without Charge" to Obtain Classical Analogs of Short-Range Interactions
Mark F. Sharlow · PhilSci-Archive (University of Pittsburgh) · 2007
Several decades ago, Wheeler and Misner presented a model of electric charge ("charge without charge") based on the topological trapping of electric field lines in wormholes.In this paper, which does not argue for or against the "charge without charge" concept, I describe some generalizations of this model which might serve as topological analogs of color charges and electroweak charges. 1 Cautionary note to the readerAs the reader probably already knows, there has been a great deal of scientifically unsupported speculation about wormholes and related topics, both on the Internet and in the popular literature.In writing this paper, I do not mean to fuel this kind of speculation.I mean only to present the much more conservative idea summarized in the paper's abstract.Judging by the experimental evidence available today, there currently is no evidence that the topological models presented in this paper are directly relevant to particle physics.Like any classical analogs of quantum phenomena, these models may nevertheless be physically or mathematically interesting.Those who are interested in the scientific precedents for the ideas presented here are welcome to examine the references cited in the paper.