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From: rimey@ucbernie.BERKELEY.EDU (Ken &)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Quantum electrodynamics and Feynman diagrams
Message-ID: <10634@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 13-Oct-85 00:13:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.10634
Posted: Sun Oct 13 00:13:39 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 14-Oct-85 04:12:18 EDT
References: <326@bcsaic.UUCP> <608@mtung.UUCP>
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Reply-To: rimey@dali.berkeley.EDU (Ken Rimey)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 20
Summary: No, the Coulomb force does not involve real photons.

>Surely you are mixing up 'real' and 'virtual' photons. In
>the case where the two charged particles act upon (repel or
>attract) each other a 'real' photon is involved.  ...
>
>Jonathan Clark
>[NAC]!mtung!jhc

No, the force between two charged particles does not involve real photons.
Hold two identically charged pith balls near each other.  You will not
detect any light or radio waves between them.

You say that virtual particles exist only for short times, and therefore
shouldn't be able to travel large distances.  Indeed, this is the reason
that the strong nuclear force has a finite range.  But moving clocks run
slow, and clocks on photons don't run at all.  This is why the force
between charged particles can be felt even at large distances.

						Ken Rimey
						rimey@dali.berkeley.edu
						ucbvax!dali!rimey