Scientists imagine virtual particles popping in and out of existence to explain how forces transfer between particles. koto_feja/iStock via Getty Images A clever mathematical tool known as virtual ...

A clever mathematical tool known as virtual particles unlocks the strange and mysterious inner workings of subatomic particles. What happens to these particles within atoms would stay unexplained ...

Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of "Ask a Spaceman" and "Space Radio," and author of "How to Die in Space." Sutter contributed this article to ...

(THE CONVERSATION) A clever mathematical tool known as virtual particles unlocks the strange and mysterious inner workings of subatomic particles. What happens to these particles within atoms would ...

Dipangkar Dutta receives funding from US Dept. of Energy and NSF. A clever mathematical tool known as virtual particles unlocks the strange and mysterious inner workings of subatomic particles. What ...

THE first thing you need to know is that virtual particles, which are impossible to avoid if you want to understand how the fundamental forces of nature animate matter, aren’t really particles at all.

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: In quantum field theory, a vacuum ...