On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 11:53 PM Alan Grayson <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 3:17:41 AM UTC-6, Bruce wrote: >> >> >>>> >>>> I see. What about the vacuum energy? What does it consist of if not >>>> virtual particles? AG >>>> >>> >>> Part of what I'm getting at is this; if the vacuum energy has anything >>> to do with the quantized EM field, the values 1/2*hbar *omega aren't >>> photons! So what is the form of energy in the vacuum? AG >>> >> >> Good question. Best answer to date is that it is Einstein's cosmological >> constant. Virtual particles can play no role because disconnected particle >> loops are necessarily of zero energy. >> >> Bruce >> > > Is there any experimental evidence that the vacuum energy is non zero? (I > assume dark energy is inferred from the accelerating expansion, but is not > considered part of the vacuum energy.) AG > I came across a good article that is apposite to the discussion in this thread. Arnold Neumaier has an article on virtual particles at: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/vacuum-fluctuation-myth/ where he looks at the origin of much of the common mythology surrounding the idea of vacuum fluctuations and virtual particles. People should read this and take the lessons to heart -- all of this mythology arose from well-meaning, but ultimately mis-guided, attempts to explain the mysteries of quantum mechanics to lay people. The result was enduring confusion, that now affects even professional physicists. Bruce -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAFxXSLTU2pJ8tC0%2B3f7agS4NPAeggYjN3L6eLTwz42mXmSZxyg%40mail.gmail.com.
