Action at a Distance

Action at a Distance:
Newtonian physics assumes a direct connection between cause and effect. Electric and
magnetic forces pose a dilemma for this interpretation since there is no direct contact
between the two charges, rather there is an action at a distance.
To resolve this dilemma it was postulated that there is an exchange of force carriers
between charged particles. These force carriers were later identified with particles of
light (photons). These particles served to transfer momentum by contact between
charged particles, much like colliding cars and trucks.

However, this attempt to resolve the action at a distance paradox uses a particle nature
to light, when observation of interference patterns clearly shows that light has a
wave-like nature. It was this dual nature to light, of both particle and wave (see
wave/particle duality), that led to the revolution known as quantum physics.
Theory of Everything:
Is that it? Are quarks and leptons the fundamental building blocks? Answer = maybe.
We are still looking to fill some holes in what is know as the Standard Model.
The Standard Model is a way of making sense of the multiplicity of elementary
particles and forces within a single scheme. The Standard Model is the combination of
two schemes; the electroweak force (unification of electromagnetism and weak force)
plus quantum chromodynamics. Although the Standard Model has brought a
considerable amount of order to elementary particles and has led to important
predictions, the model is not without some serious difficulties.
For example, the Standard Model contains a large number of arbitrary constants.
Good choice of the constants leads to exact matches with experimental results.
However, a good fundamental theory should be one where the constants are
self-evident.
The Standard Model does not include the unification of all forces and, therefore, is
incomplete. There is a strong expectation that there exists a Grand Unified Field
Theory (GUTS) that will provide a deeper meaning to the Standard Model and explain
the missing elements.