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Do Virtual Particles Exist?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Robert Weingard
Robert Weingard*
Affiliation:
Rutgers University
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Extract

In a recent paper, Shrader-Frechette (1977) has argued that there is a serious (and perhaps fatal) unclarity in the notions of particle and fundamental particle currently used in high energy physics. Shrader-Frechette focuses on the notion of a virtual particle as one of the contributors to this unclarity. Among the reasons offered for this focus are: (1) virtual particles are (in some sense) not observable, and (2) they are introduced merely to balance the “books” so conservation laws hold.

More recently, Hendrick and Murphy (1981) have argued that Shrader-Frechette's overall critique of the notions of particle and fundamental particle rests on a number of confusions and in this I am in complete agreement. Here, I am just interested in their response to Shrader-Frechette's remarks about virtual particles.

Type
Part VI. Philosophy of Physics
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1982 , Issue 1: Volume One: Contributed Papers 1982 , 1982 , pp. 235 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1982

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References

Cartwright, N. (1976). “Superposition and Macroscopic Observation.” In Logic and Probability in Quantum Mechanics. Edited by Suppes, P.. Dordrecht: Reidel. Pages 221–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fine, A. (1979). “How to Count Frequencies: A Primer for Quantum Realists.” Synthese 42: 145–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendrick, R.E. and Murphy, A. (1981). “Atomism and the Illusion of Crises: The Danger of Applying Kuhnian Categories to Current Particle Physics.” Philosophy of Science 48: 454–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrader-Frechette, K. (1977). “Atomism in Crises: An Analyses of the Current High Energy Paradigm.” Philosophy of Science 44: 409–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar