Feynman, photons and magnetic fields

[Emanresu]

In one of his lectures Richard Feynman describes the effect of a magnetic field on an electron. In doing this he describes the magnetic field as being made up of many photons. If a photon is an oscillating electromagnetic field how can it be just a magnetic field also ?

 

[Meir Achuz]

A static magnetic field does not have real photons as in an EM wave, which needs both E and M (hence "EM"). In some ways of calculating
(perturbation theory), mathematical virtual photons could arise, but that is an awkward way to treat a static magnetic field, even in QM. Feynman, especially in some popular expositions, liked to jazz things up a bit.