Mechanical models of physical fields and particles

Abstract

Earlier obtained results on mechanical analogies of physical fields and particles are reviewed. The approach rests on the concept of the substratum - a mechanical medium, which occupies all the space and serves as a seat to support the light and to transmit interactions. A turbulent ideal fluid was chosen for the substratum. The turbulence is supposed to be homogeneous and isotropic in its ground state. Perturbations of the turbulence model physical fields. Particles originate from the voids in the fluid. Symmetrical pairs of particle-antiparticle find analogies in mechanical pairs of cyclone-anticyclone. A quantum particle is modeled by the dispersion of a point discontinuity (defect) in the stochastic medium. Gravitation relates to emitting by defects the continual flow of the transient point dilatation. The shock wave mechanism of the re-collection a discontinuity in the incompressible medium governs such phenomena as the "wave function collapse" and instantaneous quantum correlations. Microscopically, the electromagnetic wave and gravitation are modeled by the torsional and axisymmetric waves, respectively, in the vortex sponge.