Virtual Definition and 547 Threads

the virtual particles that are created are the result of a quantum fluctuation ..but the energy of this fluctuation must be zero so 1 particle has positive mass and the other has negative mass ...so that if they annihilate the mass is zero and they go back to not existing but if the one with...

Hi, I've been reading chapter 4 in the Feynman Lectures on the conservation of energy and I've bought a book off amazon called Exercises in Introductory Physics which accompanies the series. Having looked at some of the questions I feel well out of my depth because essentially I haven't ever...

If virtual particles were prevented from annihilating fractions of a second before the Big Rip itself is actually achieved, wouldn't the universe be flooded with real particles creating an incredible amount of mass? 1) This idea is incorrect 2) The idea is correct and it temporarily delays the...

Greetings all, I'm new here. I've looked through some of the topics on virtual particles and I'm still a little confused. In Philosophy, you don't get something from nothing. In physics, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Yet many on web pages about physics a claim is being made that...

"Virtual particle" in path integral and perturbative approaches The term "virtual particle" is used in path integral and perturbative approaches. How do these "virtual particles" differ and how are they related? [For example, static, bound states such as the hydrogen atom are solvable by...

Homework Statement An object 2.71 * 10-2m tall is 0.14m in front of a convex mirror that has a radius of curvature 42cm. Calculate the position and height of the image, is the image inverted or upright? Homework Equations Well, I've stated that I'm using the ray model of light. As far...

How does the exchange of virtual photons result in an attractive force (for example between a proton and electron)?

Hi all, I am having trouble understanding Virtual displacements and related ideas and would appreciate your help! Let's say we have a simple pendulum and we take a snapshot of this system at some instant of time : A 'virtual displacement' is said to be : - consistent with the constraints on...

as i know,bohr's discovery reveals that atom consist of central nucleus and electron orbit around them in empty spaces my question is-why aren't virtual particles being produced in those empty spaces?

I am having trouble understanding how mirrors have only either a virtual image or a real image. Take a concave mirror for example. If the object is placed between the mirror and the focal point, then there is a magnified virtual image. If the object is placed between the focal point and the...

My grasp of physics is limited, however, I am an engineer, thus I am asking for other's assistance in understanding how to delay the annihilation of a virtual particle pair. Most literature I've read, indicates a virtual particle pair is "real" if only briefly. QUESTION: How long is...

I am reading a nice book (Quarks and Leptons, by Halzen and Martin) about particle physics. It states that the general form of the propagator of a virtual particle is: \dfrac{i\sum_{\text{spins}}}{p^2 - m^2} I see that this is the case for the Dirac propagator...

What does the future of virtual reality look like? There are a lot of hype out there for its future. What do you guys think? You may also share any articles, videos, etc..

pls explain me the concepts of ac ground,dc ground and virtual ground.?

Hi, I'm 11 so I probably will not understand your answer if you use a lot of math without explaining it. I heard that Heisinburg's unceartianity principle was what made people believe Yukawa(spelled right?) that there are such things as virtual mesons that can be pulled out of a vaccum, you...

Quantum Electro Dynamics, the quantum theory of the photon, describes the photons interaction with electrons and this is what I beleived created the electromagnetic field. However recently I've heard a disscusion that virtual photons and their interaction with electrons and the polarization of...

Are the gluons that make up a proton or neutron considered virtual particles? Thanks for your help!

consider an event that takes place for a very short duration thus it have high uncertainity in energy...this energy is sufficient to create virtual particles... can we predict the nature of virtual particle that will be created(by nature i mean..it's charge,behaviour in terms of...

I’ve talked fairly often on this blog about the trade of virtual goods and virtual currencies in virtual worlds such as Second Life or Facebook. *While novel,*neither of*these elements are legally what they claim to be. *With respect to virtual …...

Hi everyone, I'm studying applied dynamics for college. I have a simple question and then a more importante question: F=dq/dt=ma (torque)T=dL/dt What do you call these equations, Newton-euler equations? I use these equations all the time to relate forces and torques with motion, in certain...

Is the field of the theorized Higgs particle totally distinct from those fields which give rise to fleeting virtual particles? Would the latter also have some kind of 'drag' effect on elementary particles like the Higgs is thought to do? IH

I have sent approximately the following to a relativity prof at my university. It's summer, so I don't know if he'll read it, or be interested. So here it is for discussion. Hello, I wonder if you could tell me if the following experiment would have merit. To measure actual...

ive been reading on this forum that virtual particles flat out don't exist?then why is it said they exist for a certain amount of time?

As I understand it, photons are their own anti-particle, and at all points in space there are a lot of virtual particle-antiparticle pairs being created and annhilated (perhaps infinite?), so it would seem to me that on it's journey from point A to point B that there is at least some likeliehood...

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1105/1105.4714v1.pdf Does this paper shed any light on whether virtual particles are real, or not? They are speaking colloquially, as if they are real, but it sounds like there are complementary explanations that do not need to use virtual particles...

Does Gauss's Law apply to virtual particles? For example, when computing the field around a real proton, is the net charge in Gauss's Law the proton charge plus the contribution of all the virtual charges within the closed surface? (I'm thinking about the screening of charges by virtual...

I'm reading The Lightness of Being by Frank Wilczek. In a footnote talking about screening of a (real) positive charge by virtual particles (p47), he says "Thus the force falls off faster than 1 over the distance squared, as you'd have without screening" (by virtual particles). How then...

Independent virtual particle after "mind experiment" annihilation Hello good people, Probably a bit of a silly question, but I have been entertaining a bit of a thought experiment about the following. Consider the following: 1. A virtual photon is exchanged between two electrons to...

"virtual particles" in rigorous quantum field theory If I am not mistaken "virtual particles" are just a name someone put to some integrals that we use to calculate different things, and those integrals depends on the perturbation scheme and on the gauge selected, and they don't even exist in...

This may be way off base, but is there any support for the notion that virtual particles seem to appear and disappear because they move into and out of dimensions that we can't see? I kind of envision them appearing on arcs similar to solar prominences, where plasma follows the magnetic field...

so physicists say that vacuum is filled with virtual electrons and positrons that last very shortly and then annihilate.. They are even planning on building super strong lasers to generate the EM field strong enough to separate them before annihilating - making them real. But this concerns me -...

Homework Statement A converging lens of focal length 0.246 m forms a virtual image of an object. The image appears to be .933 m from the lens on the same side as the object. What is the distance between the object and the lens? Homework Equations 1/f = 1/di + 1/do Since the image is...

Hey everyone, So I'm wondering whether or not a virtual object can make a real image, essentially. Let's say a real object is passed through a diverging lens, and thus creates a virtual image. This image is then bounced off a concave mirror. Now the concave mirror, if given a real object...

how is a virtual object identified ?

how can we say that the image formed by a concave mirror is always real if object is virtual? please help

I would appreciate some clarification on working with lenses and virtual objects (when the object distance do is negative). I'm not sure what happens when the do is negative and you get a positive value for di. On which side of the lens does the image go? Normally, for a lens, if di is...

Hi, Is there a non-perturbative version of Quantum Field Theory that doesn't require virtual particles? If there is. Why is it not taught or emphasized so we have to completely do away with virtual particles which many pop-sci books claimed to be real when many experts here state these are...

I understand the basics of the double slit experiment. I'm trying to imagine what would happen if one slit could operate at a 180 degree phase shift, or nearly that. The obvious answer is not much except between the slits, and even less if the distance between the slits is near the wave length...

Is it possible for a virtual particle consisting of a proton/antiproton pair to "pop" into existence close enough to the nucleus of a helium atom (two protons and two neutrons) such that the antiproton of the virtual particle annihilates one of the protons of the helium atom leaving Tritium (H3)...

Hello Just had a quick question for a structures class. When attempting a problem, what's the main difference between applying PVW and PMPE? What would classify a problem in using one over the other? Thanks

Can anyone provide it? I just examined wiki article just for fun, it is a mess of different concepts (because, as I understand, there was an attempt to make it interpretation-neutral) So, can anyone provide a definition which is MWI-compatible? For example: in MWI any 'particle' behavior...

Okay... In the quantum world, is all motion absolute? As in, can you pinpoint whether or not a particle is actually moving using space as a reference point? Or is it like in general relativity where the only motion that matters is motion relative to other particles? If it is like the model...

Hi all, I have (what might be a rather odd) question about the interactions between real and virtual particles. Let's say we have an isolated proton, moving slowly through space. There will be virtual proton/anti-proton pairs popping in and out of existence in the surrounding space. On...

Dear All, I have got a subclass (Panda), which inherits a Print function from the base class (Bear). I'd like to be able to call the base class's function from the subclass. But my complier gives me the following error message: In member function `virtual void Panda::print(char)'...

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to set up a virtual window in a windowless room (or office or shop)? Google search came up with some kind of Apple or Wii set-up, has anyone tried it? Have comments on it? Does anyone have other suggestions? [Mod: please feel free to move under Tech or...

Hi folks, I have a question that I so far haven't been able to locate an answer to - it's mostly for curiosity. If virtual particles are continually popping in and out of existence in the vacuum, why do they not produce a frictional force on objects moving at constant velocity through...

In an convergent/divergent lens, how do we consider an object real o virtual?? I thonk is real if it's placed at left of the len and virtual if at right. Right?

I was having a conversation with a physicist on Facebook (author of a book I rather enjoyed - "Users guide to the universe"), and he let the conversation end without my question ever being fully answered. Perhaps someone here can help explain this to me. I'll paste the entire conversation...

What do you think? I thought a poll, just for the fun of it!

If virtual particles pop into and out of existence in less than the blink of an eye, 1. How much less than a blink...less than 10-43 seconds? 2. Where is this happening now as I speak..in front of my eyes, in my next door neighbor's house, or in places far far away..? 3. If some of these...