Feynman QED, Permanent Magnets, and Virtual Photons

[jmatejka]

I'm not making any statements here, only asking questions.

When I take two permanent magnets and I feel the repulsive force between them, Feynman QED says it is the momentum of the virtual photons "pushing" the magnets apart?

Experiments have been done, forcing some of these virtual photons to become "visible" photons?

Am I roughly correct? Thanks, John

 

[tiny-tim]

Hi John!

No, the virtual particles (not only photons, but also electrons and positrons, and not only "pushing" but also "pulling") in Feynman QED are just maths, they have nothing to do with reality.

For a full discussion, see the thread https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=302923"

 

[jmatejka]

Much appreciated, Thanks!