The Stability of Matter and Quantum Electrodynamics

A survey of the stability of matter problem is given, starting with the stability of the hydrogen atom. The stablity of bulk matter with Coulomb potentials, with or without relativistic mechanics, and with or without magnetic fields is discussed. The final section discusses the stability of matter in a relativistic model with the Dirac operator as kinetic energy (but restricted to the positive subspace) and with the quantized electromagnetic field in the Coulomb gauge.