photons in electromagnetism

[Zarnaxus]

Photons are the gauge boson for the electromagnetic force. Does this mean that magnetic fields are actually just permeated with photons? It gets confusing, because I have never really thought of photons outside of thinking about electromagnetic waves, but if they carry out the forces of all electromagnetic interractions, wouldn't they be curving around magnets extemely fast? When i hold two magnets together, is the interactions between them happening at c?

[swansont]

Photons are not affected by the fields.; they only affect charges/magnets. Yes, the interaction occurs at c.

[lemur]

Photons are not affected by the fields.; they only affect charges/magnets. Yes, the interaction occurs at c.

If something moves at c, does that always imply that it has momentum the way light does? Does a magnetic field have momentum? To me that would imply that it could be amplified and focused, like a laser does with light.

[swansont]

If something moves at c, does that always imply that it has momentum the way light does? Does a magnetic field have momentum? To me that would imply that it could be amplified and focused, like a laser does with light.

 

These are virtual photons http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/55333-virtual-particles/

[lemur]

These are virtual photons http://www.sciencefo...tual-particles/

Are virtual particles just a way of defining field force for calculation purposes or are they supposed to be true fundamental entities?

[swansont]

Are virtual particles just a way of defining field force for calculation purposes or are they supposed to be true fundamental entities?

 

Calculational tools. There is no guarantee they actually exist, but nature behaves as if they do.

[lemur]

Calculational tools. There is no guarantee they actually exist, but nature behaves as if they do.

I understand the instrumental value of concepts that facilitate calculation, but my main interest is what the fundamental constituents of physics are or could be. Maybe I am making too much out of the models, though, and concepts like "proton," "electron," and "photon," are just as arbitrary as "virtual photon." Still, the fact that a EM wave photon has internal cohesion makes it seem more like an actual packet of energy that travels from atom to atom. Is the point of describing magnetic fields in terms of "virtual photons" that a field of force behaves similarly to an array of photons being emitted from a source? Still, energy seems distinct from force, imo, because I can't see how force can be conserved the way energy is. Or is it all conserved in the form of mass, with matter losing (and gaining) mass as photons get emitted (and absorbed)? But how would this be similar in magnetic fields? It's not as if a piece of iron stuck to a magnet absorbs the magnetic force that is transferred to it, right? Its atoms' spins just get aligned temporarily and become random again after the permanent magnet is taken away. You wouldn't say that the iron atoms "absorbed" and "re-emitted" magnetic (virtual) photons, would you?

[swansont]

Like all tools, you want to use the right one for the job. Virtual photons find a use in Feynman diagrams, so they are used in the context of fundamental processes involving the electromagnetic interaction. There are rules one has to follow at vertices — energy and momentum must be conserved there. Which may or may not be helpful in a discussion of magnetic domains aligning. Probably not, thought it depends on the level of detail.