Fundamental interaction

A basic interaction between particles that is not explained as a combination of other interactions. The four known examples are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and the weak interaction.

Electromagnetism: The interaction between electrically charged particles, mediated by photons. It governs electric and magnetic effects and has infinite range.
Quantum field theory: A framework that describes particles as excitations of fields and their interactions through quantum dynamics. It provides the shared language for the electromagnetic, strong, and weak interactions.
James Clerk Maxwell: A Scottish physicist whose equations unified electricity, magnetism, and light. His electromagnetic theory showed that apparently distinct phenomena share one interaction.
Quantum gravity: The research effort to reconcile quantum theory with gravity. No experimentally confirmed framework yet unites gravity with quantum field theory.
Strong interaction: The interaction that binds quarks into hadrons and indirectly binds protons and neutrons in nuclei. It confines quarks and holds atomic nuclei together through its residual effect.
Gauge symmetry: A symmetry under transformations of fields that vary across spacetime without changing physical predictions. Gauge symmetries structure the Standard Model's descriptions of three interactions.
Sheldon Glashow: An American theoretical physicist who helped develop the electroweak theory. His work helped unify electromagnetic and weak interactions.
String theory: A theoretical framework in which fundamental entities are one-dimensional strings rather than point particles. It offers a candidate framework that includes quantum gravity and gauge interactions.
Weak interaction: The interaction responsible for processes such as beta decay, mediated by W and Z bosons. It changes particle types and enables key forms of radioactive decay.
Quantum electrodynamics: The quantum field theory of electromagnetic interactions between charged particles and photons. It gives a precise account of electromagnetic interaction at particle scales.

Linked from 6 pages