From Brookhaven National Laboratory: Scientists Capture a Glimpse into the Quantum VacuumNew findings on particle spin correlations offer insight into how visible matter emerges from "nothing"
Image: This image depicts the dynamic fluctuations of energy fields in the quantum vacuum that are associated with the fleeting emergence of spin-aligned quark/antiquark pairs. Physicists analyzing data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have shown that RHIC's particle collisions can deliver an extra energy boost that transforms such virtual particles into real particles that can be picked up by detectors like STAR. (Valerie A. Lentz/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
UPTON, N.Y. — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered experimental evidence that particles of matter emerging from energetic subatomic smashups retain a key feature of virtual particles that exist only fleetingly in the quantum vacuum. The finding offers a new way to explore how the vacuum — once thought of as empty space — provides important ingredients needed to transform virtual “nothingness” into the matter that makes up our world...
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