I’m listening to an audiobook of A Brief History of Time, bopping along, and when I get to the chapter on black holes I’m suddenly “hold up, whaaa? . . .” And then I learn that “virtual particles” can somehow become “real particles” through “negative energy” and I’m thinking it sounds like a comic book where Batman saved the day by “reversing the polarity.”
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Hi /u/tamsui_tosspot!
Virtual particles are the source of some of the most pervasive misunderstandings in pop-physics. I would argue their conception has done more harm than good…
Virtual particles are not real. They are a mathematical book-keeping device, nothing more. Please don’t ascribe any physical meaning to them.
Similar things are true about negative energy.
Any explanations of Hawking radiation that involve virtual particles and negative energy try to paint a picture that is somewhat intuitive in order to render this effect more accessible. However, neither virtual particles nor negative energy have a whole lot to do with the proper mathematical description of Hawking radiation.
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