Where does law reside?

Question

I'm asking about the laws of physics here.

It seems they can't reside in matter, because then each particle of matter could have different laws and therefore not be able to interact. And there would be no way for one particle of matter to "know" where another is to be attracted to or repelled from it.

And it seems it cannot reside in space, since (if the Big Bang theory is correct or even nearly so) the cosmic singularity did not have any space when the laws of the universe kicked in and began expanding it.

So, where do the laws of physics reside?

Answer 1

The Laws of Physics reside in your brain.

Answer 2

"I am the law" -- Judge Dredd

As we get farther into physics, it looks more and more like there is no "matter" like we're used to.  Photons have a wavelength, and so do protons, atoms and molecules.  The double slit experiment has been performed with buckyballs - that's 60 atoms of carbon!

And these are waves in what?  Space-time.  Not just the fabric of space, time is involved as well.  So, one way to look at it is that there is only space-time.  The behavior of space-time may be all that there is.

It's amazing we're here at all.  But we're the Universe's way of getting to know itself.

Since General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are known to be be incompatible, there are certainly laws of physics yet to be discovered.

Answer 3

Laws of Physics are not "things" that can "be" anywhere.

The Law of Physics are statements made by humans that describe how the world works IN EVERY CASE.  Simple example: What goes up must come down.

Sometimes the "laws" are mathematical equations.  For example, the Law of Gravity really tells us that, for two given objects with known masses, there is an attraction between them that varies according to the distance they are separated.  You can tell how "strong" gravity is based on the mass and distance of an object.  Using this equation you can describe how planets will orbit the sun, or even how the sun will orbit the galatic center!

The "Laws of Physics" needed to first be "discovered".  That is, somebody needs to see a problem, and define a law that will describe it IN EVERY CASE.  

What happens if you find something that does not follow a Law of Physics?  Well, you probably couldn't find it.  The Laws of Physics are used to make scientific instruments.  The instrument measures something that is described by a Law of Physics, like weight or speed or volts or temperature.  

Something that did not fit the Laws of Physics probably couldn't been seen, heard, smelled, felt, or measured in any way.  If it COULD, then that measn that there is a New Law of Physics that has yet to be discovered.

So, in reality, "The Laws of Physics" reside in the heads of people, and in are written into books.