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The principle of virtual work states that if a body is in static and dynamic equilibrium, then the sum of all the virtual work done by all external forces and couple moments for any given virtual displacement must be zero.
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Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra.
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The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
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Virtual work is a powerful method used to solve problems involving several connected rigid bodies. When the system is in equilibrium, virtual work is zero. This allows the calculation of the resulting forces when a system undergoes a virtual displacement. When attempting to analyze such a system, first, use a free-body diagram, where an independent coordinate represents the configuration of the links, and mark its deflected position resulting from the positive virtual displacement.
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Are Virtual Particles Less Real?

Gregg Jaeger1

  • 1Quantum Communication and Measurement Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Virtual quantum particles are as real as other quantum particles. Arguments against their existence fail by misapplying classical ideas or critiquing particles generally, not virtual ones specifically.

Keywords:
elementary particleontologyperturbation theoryquantumquantum fieldscatteringvirtual particle

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Area of Science:

  • Quantum Field Theory
  • Particle Physics
  • Foundations of Physics

Background:

  • The existence of virtual quantum particles is a contentious topic in physics.
  • Current distinctions between virtual and real particles often rely on calculation methods rather than intrinsic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically analyze the arguments against the existence of virtual particles.
  • To provide a clearer characterization of virtual particles and argue for their reality.

Main Methods:

  • Re-evaluation of existing arguments against virtual particle existence.
  • Analysis of the role of virtual particles in quantum field theory calculations and their explanatory power.
  • Characterization of virtuality in terms of intermediate states.

Main Results:

  • Many arguments against virtual particles are flawed, either by addressing particles generally or by imposing classical intuition.
  • Virtual particles possess descriptive, explanatory, and predictive value.
  • A robust characterization of virtuality as intermediate states is provided, extending beyond perturbation theory.

Conclusions:

  • Virtual particles are as real as other quantum particles.
  • Their role as force mediators prevents action-at-a-distance.
  • The reality of virtual particles is supported by their utility and a clearer theoretical framework.