At some point you run into the issue of virtual particles: Matter-antimatter pairs that arise from the intrinsic energy in any space, popping into existence for an unimaginably short time before turning back into energy, happening everywhere in the universe uncountable times per second.
The actual reality of a virtual particle is a bit of an open question though from my (admittedly limited) understanding. They seem to just be a figment of the maths required to arrive at the on-shell processes. A guy I spoke to recently was rather dismissive about a particular area of research as they don’t really bother with interactions that lead to external particles. Like “Oh we can calculate gg -> gggg scattering super-duper fast compared to the old methods!” “Great, how does that help us exactly?”
At some point you run into the issue of virtual particles: Matter-antimatter pairs that arise from the intrinsic energy in any space, popping into existence for an unimaginably short time before turning back into energy, happening everywhere in the universe uncountable times per second.
Aye, I mentioned them in my second paragraph :D
The actual reality of a virtual particle is a bit of an open question though from my (admittedly limited) understanding. They seem to just be a figment of the maths required to arrive at the on-shell processes. A guy I spoke to recently was rather dismissive about a particular area of research as they don’t really bother with interactions that lead to external particles. Like “Oh we can calculate gg -> gggg scattering super-duper fast compared to the old methods!” “Great, how does that help us exactly?”