Space expansion & Virtual Particles

[Simpleton]

It is said that a Virtual particle has the ability to become a real particle. "Most" real particles have mass.

 

My question

"If" all of the universes virtual particle potential was turned in to real particles, how much mass would it represent.

[Гера�им]

Virtual particles materialize under action on them big energy, but it does njt prove their existence.

[ajb]

The number of virtual particles is not well defined so I have no idea how to tackle that question.

[Simpleton]

Thank you for the answers.

 

The amount of discussion on Virtual Particles appears astronomical to me. Seperating fact from fiction is way past my ability.

I will try to explain what "my" simplistic understanding of "what a Virtual Particle may be" is so far so it can be corrected.

 

The Casimir effect is produced by the exclusion of particle - waves between two closely placed plates creating a better vacuum between this plates. Therefore the two plates are attracted to each other.

This waves are coming from all directions. They don't interfere or collide with each other but they are everywhere.

 

Particles travel as waves. Over time and distance, this waves spread out, losing density. The waves are also the particles.

 

May it be that the loss of density made them Virtual Particles?

[MigL]

There is a calculation which considers each point in space as a harmonic oscillator ( doesn't everything in physics ? ) , then using suitable boundary conditions, comes up with a vacuum energy value which is 120 orders of magnitude higher than expected, Obviously something is wrong here !

[hoola]

I think virtual particles are the dark energy that is expanding space. They seem to be everywhere in space all the time, generating this energy. In the lab, it seems that they can be controlled to an extent with simple confinement experiments such as the casimir effect...so it seems they need a certain spatial area to express this energy, and in space they are largely unconfined. Since they are pushing material within space apart, that creates more empty space with which to appear. This seems to lead to the expansion creating more available dark energy in proportion to the material total within the universe, which would seem to account for the acceleration of the expansion....more empty space = more dark force = more acceleration, in a kind of runaway feedback system, mimicking the behavior of an explosion.

Edited December 15, 2013 by hoola