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OK,I have not studied any quantum field theory but ever since I heard of charges interacting by exchanging virtual photons I have been wondering what determines the energy of the virtual photons. Classically this attraction/repulsion follows inverse square law but does it break down at quantum level ? This force of interaction should depend both on the number of photons and their energy ? And what determines the energy of those photons ? Just the quantum fluctuation ? Or also the energy possessed by that charged particle ? And what precisely determines whether a photon emitted from a charged particle will repel or attract a negative charge ? Do photons emitted by a positive charge carry some sort of "signature"on them,indicating what they will do to another positive or negative charge ?

Omar Nadeem
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  • You need to read this http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/68940/virtual-photons-what-makes-them-virtual?rq=1 and this https://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/virtual-particles-what-are-they/ a virtual particle is not a particle at all. –  Sep 18 '16 at 17:18
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    See http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/2244/50583 and http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/142159/50583. There are too many individual and confused questions here to be usefully answered. Please ask a single, focused question per post. – ACuriousMind Sep 18 '16 at 20:08

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