Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

So far we have talked about symmetry and its important applications. The topic we will take up next is spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this context, the application of symmetry can lead to wildly unexpected results. Let us start out by saying what spontaneous symmetry breaking is not . You might suppose, for instance, that there is a symmetry breaking between up and down. Due to the presence of Earth’s gravitational field, all directions are not the same, and indistinguishable from a physics standpoint, as they would be in a wholly symmetrical situation. But this is still not an example of spontaneous symmetry breaking because it is a consequence of the aforementioned gravitational field–a constant environmental condition, you might say, rather than a sudden natural shift that changes everything.