Recent field analysis of the hydrogen atom by Dr Jack Mroczkowski demonstrates what this means for the electron field inside an atom. First, Mroczkowski shows that the energy is distributed throughout the electron field, rather than being concentrated in the motion of a localised particle electron.

His second finding concerns the field’s spinning frequencies in the so-called angular momentum, or ‘L states’, and their L values. This has nothing to do with the ‘intrinsic spin’ of the electron itself – only the behaviour of the field.

His analysis combines the mathematics of quantum mechanics with a simple physical model, treating the electron field like a spinning object, with its mass distributed according to well-known probability patterns.

Mroczkowski calculated how fast these fields must spin or rotate around the nucleus. For the simplest states, the L results exactly matched textbook predictions. For more complex states, something unexpected turned up.

The electron field doesn’t spin as one whole. Instead, it is divided into two or more completely separate fields, which Mroczkowski calls ‘subfields’. Each subfield spins at its own rate and at a precise angle to the others, together producing exactly the L value predicted by quantum theory.

It’s a striking picture – but the idea extends beyond the electron. All the fundamental particles we talk about can be understood as quantum fields. What we call a particle is the way a quantum field manifests itself.

Mroczkowski’s work provides a way of visualising this field-based picture inside the hydrogen atom, helping us move beyond the concept of particles – and towards a picture of nature in which quantum fields are fundamental.