Virtual particles appear and disappear in the course of interactions between real particles. The general phenomenon of particles appearing and disappearing in interactions happens with both real and virtual particles—but the interactions are such that momentum, charge, etc. are always conserved. So the things you should expect to see persisting in existence aren’t particles themselves, but those conserved properties.
But where are they coming from and going to if matter and energy cannot be destroyed? Appear and disappear just means they merely become detectable/detected?
Think of particles as bundles of conserved quantities like charge, energy, mass, etc.
In interactions, these quantities can be shuffled around and re-bundled into different particles—but the re-bundling isn’t creating or destroying the conserved quantities themselves.
But where are they coming from and going to if matter and energy cannot be destroyed?
From nothing. No new energy is created because virtual particles are always created in a way that does not disturb the total energy of the universe. For example, one particle and one anti-particle. It can’t be any other way.
Virtual particles appear and disappear in the course of interactions between real particles. The general phenomenon of particles appearing and disappearing in interactions happens with both real and virtual particles—but the interactions are such that momentum, charge, etc. are always conserved. So the things you should expect to see persisting in existence aren’t particles themselves, but those conserved properties.
But where are they coming from and going to if matter and energy cannot be destroyed? Appear and disappear just means they merely become detectable/detected?
Think of particles as bundles of conserved quantities like charge, energy, mass, etc.
In interactions, these quantities can be shuffled around and re-bundled into different particles—but the re-bundling isn’t creating or destroying the conserved quantities themselves.
Ok. universe is made of Lego. Got it. :)
From nothing. No new energy is created because virtual particles are always created in a way that does not disturb the total energy of the universe. For example, one particle and one anti-particle. It can’t be any other way.