ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Lattice field theory

Lattice field theory is a way to understand the behavior of really tiny things, like particles and atoms, that we can't really see with our eyes. Scientists use a special kind of math called quantum mechanics to describe how these particles interact with each other.

Now, imagine you have a big sheet of paper with a grid on it, and each square on the grid is a little universe. This is kind of like what lattice field theory does. Scientists cut up the universe into tiny little pieces using a grid of points, like a net.

They then assign a value to each of these points on the grid, like how hot or how fast something is moving at that point on the grid. This allows them to describe the behavior of particles in terms of these values, and how they change over time.

The lattice field theory helps scientists understand how these values change depending on what particles are around them and how they are interacting. It's kind of like a puzzle where they need to figure out how everything fits together to make sense of the bigger picture. By doing this, scientists can make predictions about how particles will behave in different situations and test them out in experiments.