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Can We Really Touch Anything?

2013-06-24

[public] 1.87M views, 37.1K likes, 737 dislikes audio only

channel thumbVeritasium

Can we really touch things? Well if by touch we mean exchange a force-carrying particle with, then yes. The photon is the force-carrier of the electromagnetic interaction. But if the photon is also a particle of light then why aren't magnets glowing? Because the photons are virtual particles, which means they can't be directly detected (without changing the outcome we are trying to measure.

Supported by Audible: http://bit.ly/ZJ5Q6z

Who would win in a chin-up competition between me and MinutePhysics? What is going to be the most exciting area of scientific discovery in the next few decades? Where can you get a Veritasium t-shirt? http://dft.ba/-vetshirt

Huge thanks to Brady, CGP Grey, and Henry for their cameos.

Thank you to PhET for the Bohr model simulation: http://phet.colorado.edu/


Intro
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Virtual photons
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Top 3 most inspirational scientists
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Electron shells
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Frequency of light
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Future of science
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Audiblecom
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