A virtual particle lives for only 10^-22 seconds—less time than a photon takes to cross an atom—yet without them, you'd fall apart.
Do we owe our existence to weird ‘virtual’ particles?
Physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein explains that virtual particles, though not directly observable, are crucial for holding matter together. These fleeting quantum fluctuations violate energy conservation but are allowed by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Without them, the electromagnetic forces that bind atoms would cease to exist, making life impossible.
Source: Do we owe our existence to weird ‘virtual’ particles? — New Scientist
A daily AI-made news meme from Jester · Jul 14, 2026.
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