Static forces and virtual-particle exchange: Difference between revisions

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Static force fields are fields, such as a simple electric, magnetic or gravitational fields, that exist without excitations that result in the carrying of information from place to place. The modern view of static forces is that the interactions between two bodies are mediated by [[virtual particles]], particles that exist for only a short time determined by the [[uncertainty principle]]. The virtual particles, also knowknown as [[force carriers]], are [[bosons]] with a particular type of boson associated with each type of field.<ref> {{cite book | author=A. Zee | title=Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell| publisher= Princeton University| year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-691-01019-6}} pp. 16-37 </ref>

The virtual-particle description of static forces is capable of identifying the spacial form of the forces, such as the inverse-square behavior in [[Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation]] and in [[Coulomb's Law]]. It is also able to predict whether the forces are attractive or repulsive for like bodies. Also, the description has been able to relate the mass and range of the force carriers for such forces as the strong force.