How does the electron keep its properties?

[JC_Silver]

TL;DR

If virtual particles are constantly "annihilating" electrons, how do properties such as spin stay the same?

The most recent PBS Spacetime video presented an idea I didn't really think about, that as we try to observe an electron by zooming in, the more see the effects of virtual particles that annihilate with the "original electron".


This is a great way to visualise the electron and all but one question it raised for me is that, if the electron we observe keeps being substituted by random generated clones, how does it keep certain quantum properties such as spin? Are the virtual particles all in the same superpositions and states as the electron close to them?

While I love PBS videos, the lack of any manner of reading list for anyone who wants to dive deeper is quite sad.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well, for starters all electrons are identical. They have no properties that allow you to distinguish one from another. (If they had different properties, they wouldn't be electrons - they'd be something else.)

 

[PeroK]

TL;DR Summary: If virtual particles are constantly "annihilating" electrons, how do properties such as spin stay the same?

The most recent PBS Spacetime video presented an idea I didn't really think about, that as we try to observe an electron by zooming in, the more see the effects of virtual particles that annihilate with the "original electron".

Generally, this is why these popular science videos are not a valid reference. There's no answer to your question except to say that if you want to go deeper, you have to forget the PBS video.

One issue is that virtual particles are not the same as "real" particles. Real particles are what we observe. And virtual particles are only a mathematical technique for making calculations. So:

if the electron we observe keeps being substituted by random generated clones, how does it keep certain quantum properties such as spin?

... is a false hypothesis.

While I love PBS videos, the lack of any manner of reading list for anyone who wants to dive deeper is quite sad.

You can't go deeper. These videos are essentially a dead-end. That's all you get.

 

[FactChecker]

At the risk of getting out of my lane, I would point out that physics has several significant conservation laws. Emmy Noether showed the relationship between conservation laws and symmetries. Conservation laws are great for skipping from the beginning to the end without worrying about the details of how it got there.

 

[JC_Silver]

At the risk of getting out of my lane, I would point out that physics has several significant conservation laws. Emmy Noether showed the relationship between conservation laws and symmetries. Conservation laws are great for skipping from the beginning to the end without worrying about the details of how it got there.

I guess it makes sense, thanks

 

[FactChecker]

I guess it makes sense, thanks

More in this post.