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Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watdcsu!dmcanzi
From: dmcanzi@watdcsu.UUCP (David Canzi)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Quantum electrodynamics and Feynman diagrams
Message-ID: <1746@watdcsu.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-Oct-85 01:04:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: watdcsu.1746
Posted: Fri Oct 11 01:04:25 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 18:25:18 EDT
References: <326@bcsaic.UUCP>
Reply-To: dmcanzi@watdcsu.UUCP (David Canzi)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 26
Summary: 

I've always been annoyed at the fact that they *never* try to show
attraction by particle exchange.  I've thought the matter over, and
come up with a possible explanation of how such a thing can happen.

Disclaimer:  This is a half-educated guess, subject to correction by
anybody who really understands QM.

The diagram:

	   e-    e+
	  /       \
	 /         \
     <--*           *<--
	|           |
	|           |

The explanation:

The electron on the left emits the virtual photon leftward.  The virtual
photon's momentum is fairly well-defined, so, by the uncertainty principle,
its position isn't.  As a result, it can be absorbed from the right by
the positron on the right.
-- 
David Canzi

There are too many thick books about thin subjects.