The Stem Particle

Stem particles are extra subatomic particles outside the standard model and are how magic functions at a subatomic level. Magic, a bit like electricity, is an energy that at a fundamental level is the movement of special particles with a unique quantum property; all magic is done by manipulating stem particles. Stem particles only naturally exist within the Aether, but can be temporarily summoned by a magic user and will remain in the universe for as long as they are under the magic user's control. Stem particles are still partially unexplained, and only barely avoid breaking the laws of physics at times. Their antiparticle is the anti-stem particle, which is key to them fitting within the laws of physics and is also the key to anti-magic.

Properties

Physical & Chemical Properties

The stem particle has no mass and, in terms of quantum numbers, no charge, no baryon number, none of the lepton numbers, and no strangeness. The one quantum number it does have is a 'magic number' of +1, which is a quantity unique to it. Demonstrated in a table this is:

Quantity	Value
Mass	~200MeV/c^2
Charge (Q)	0
Baryon Number (B)	0
Lepton Number (L)	0
Strangeness (S)	0
Spin	?
Magic Number (℧)	+1

When in this universe, stem particles can only exist within the nucleus of a carbon atom (or any of its ions or isotopes), though it is not known why this is. Stem particles cannot move outside of a carbon nucleus and cannot be within a different element. For this reason, for stem particles to move around, their host carbon atom must move. The carbon atoms move in longitudinal waves, and this is how magic is transferred through the air. Alternatively, they can transfer from one carbon nucleus to another when the atoms collide or are joined, a phenomenon known as 'Statcher Transference', named after the ORCHESTRA physicist Frederick Statcher.
Stem particles can only enter the universe by being summonned by a magic user, whereupon they will appear in carbon atoms so that they can be controlled. Yet, for conservation reasons, when a stem particle is summonned, an anti-stem particle is also summonned in the same nucleus. These two particles will then quickly annihilate if not separated. Once separated, though, a stem particle can be controlled as the user wishes, whereas an anti-stem particle cannot be controlled. Even when not being controlled by a magic user, it is believed stem particles and anti-stem particles may sometimes spontaneously appear within carbon atoms before annihilating nanoseconds later.
Stem particles are special, and named 'stem' particles, because of their anomalous ability to transform into any other elementary particle which has less mass than it, including photons, quarks, leptons and bosons. This is fundamentally how magic has all its abilities. For example, stem particles can become photons to produce light or heat, electrons for electricity, bosons for telekinesis, complex combinations of quarks and leptons to produce regular matter and loads of higher combinations of these basic abilities. The particles change forms depending on what the user controlling them wants, though directing them is more difficult. If after becoming regular matter the user relinquishes control of them they will quickly turn back to stem particles and return to the Aether. Thus, in order to do sustained magic the user must maintain their concentration and may have to summon new stem particles to replace any they lose. It should be noted that stem particles can only become matter, and cannot become antimatter, while the reverse is true for anti-stem particles.
To preserve conservation for all quantum numbers, a stem particle and its anti-stem partner are inextricably linked, and whatever properties change in one, the opposite will happen to the other. So, when a stem particle turns into a regular particle, its anti-stem partner will turn into the corresponding anti-particle at the same time. And whatever property changes happen to either will be instantaneously mirrored in the partner, regardless of the distance between them, similarly to quantum entanglement. Thus, if one ever reverts to their pure form and returns to the Aether, the other will immediately do so as well. The particles that stem particles turn into are physically indistinguishable from ones that occur naturally, having the same properties. However, they will still have a magic number of +1 and be controllable by a magic user, thus they are referred to as 'venefice particles' to distinguish them and their unique origin.

Origin & Source

The stem particle originates only from the Aether, the source of all magic. It can be brought into the universe temporarily by a magic user, along with an anti-stem particle.

Life & Expiration

Theoretically, a stem particle will remain in the universe for as long as the controlling magic user keeps it there. Once control is relinquished, however, the particle will return to the Aether very quickly, typically within microseconds. If the stem particle has become another particle, it will take a few seconds to first turn back into a stem particle and then return to the Aether. Also, even if a magic user is keeping constant control the particle, it may spontaneously turn into a fundamental particle anyway, thus removing the user's control over it, after which it will turn back to an uncontrollable stem particle and return to the Aether, along with its anti-stem particle. This happens regardless of what the user is doing, and when and if the particle will transform is stochastic and unpredictable. However, the statistical model for this happening to a collection of stem particles overall is similar to radioactive decay, and has a half-life of two minutes, meaning the magic user has to replenish their active magic over time or they will gradually lose it.

History & Usage

History

It is not known how long the Aether has existed, though if it existed before the universe then theoretically the stem particle should have been usable from the beginning of the universe (theories as to if magic had a hand in the creation of the universe are incomplete). Though nothing occurred until living beings evolved to be able to use magic, it is likely some stem particles were spontaneously manifesting and disappearing in carbon atoms across the universe during this time (theories as to if magic helped create life are also incomplete). Once some beings learned to use magic, instinctively or intelligently, stem particles began to be used. However, despite being controlled regularly by magic users, no one had a clue as to the particle's existence until particle physics first appeared in the 20th century.
It took until ORCHESTRA scientists applied particle physics to magic for the stem particle to be theorised. It should be pointed out that due to the ephemeral nature of stem particles, they cannot be directly observed with a particle accelerator. Instead, they were predicted to exist from observations of magically excited carbon atoms that seemingly gained energy from nowhere. This and the apparent spontaneous production of other fundamental particles led to the acceptance of the existence of the stem particle. As the stem particle was considered anomalous, in order for it to fit within the standard model it was assumed it possessed none of the other quantum numbers of other particles, like photons. However, with the later discovery of anti-stem particles, the unique quantum number of magic was added to account for its anti-particle.

Discovery

The stem particle was first theorised by ORCHESTRA physicist Frederick Statcher in 1949, and then confirmed with observation of carbon atoms in 1971.

Everyday use

The stem particle is the fundamental unit of magic, therefore is the bedrock of the entire magical world. All magic users and magical creatures use it on a daily basis to do all their magic, and some magical creatures are dependant on it to live.

Cultural Significance and Usage

When ORCHESTRA discovered the particle and realised it was the basis of all magic, it became a symbol of the science of magic. Rather than despising it though, they viewed it scientifically as an anomalous elementary particle that needed to be explained. On the other hand the magical community remained mostly unaware of its existence. They gained basic knowledge of it from interrogating ORCHESTRA prisoners and raiding bases, but never truly understood it. While the more intelligent of them viewed it as revelatory, some ignored it because they insisted on viewing magic spiritually, and some ignored it because it was an ORCHESTRA discovery.

Hazards

If a magic user is controlling lots of magic at once, or for a very long period of time, then damage may build up internally. The aforementioned random transformation of stem particles into other fundamental particles mean that, regardless of what the user is doing, stem particles will randomly turn into high-energy photons, electrons, or other particles. These can impact parts of the user's innards and the energy can cause damage to build up, such as scarring, random pain, enzyme denaturing, cancer, any potential organ problem or organ failure, and more. There are a huge variety of complications that can occur from this, but generally they only manifest if a person has been using magic for many years or in extremely high quantity.

Type

Elemental / Molecular

Related Locations

• The Aether