4 ms·
It’s even more complicated. The charge on the electron is partially screened by virtual positive charges emerging briefly from the vacuum, so what we measure is
by wrycoder 3y ago
It’s even more complicated. The charge on the electron is partially screened by virtual positive charges emerging briefly from the vacuum, so what we measure is less than the actual charge.
- AnimalMuppet 3y agoBut isn't the same thing going on for the proton? (Of course, absent some good reason, one wouldn't expect the two screenings to exactly balance...)
- nyssos 3y ago> (Of course, absent some good reason, one wouldn't expect the two screenings to exactly balance...) Charge conservation still applies: vacuum polarization can only modify the apparent charge distribution, not the net value.