A European Informational Website
learn more
In physics, a virtual particle is a particle which exists for such a short time and space that its energy and momentum do not have to obey the usual relationship. Virtual particles exhibit some of the phenomena that real particles do, such as obedience to the conservation laws. If a single particle is detected, then the consequences of its existence are prolonged to such a degree that it cannot be virtual. Virtual particles are viewed as the quanta which describe fields of the basic force interactions, which cannot be described in terms of real particles. Examples of these are static force fields, such as a simple electric or magnetic fields, or any field which exists without excitations which result in it carrying information from place to place.