I possess a basic understanding of QED; however, I do not understand what the wavelength of the force carrying photon of a permanent magnet is? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

Mark

All forces are mediated by certain "carriers" of the force in question.

Photons carry the electromagnetic force, other particles carry the strong

and weak atomic forces. Gravity may eventually be shown to be "carried" by

a Graviton, and Dark Matter may have an inverse analog to the Graviton.

What particle carries the force that is observed between to permanent

magnets? If photons are responsible for this force, wouldn't they have a

very long (infinite) wavelength? For example light consists of photons of

a particular wavelength depending upon the color of the light. As we

descend into the radio frequencies, the wavelength gets longer and longer.

What happens between two continuous permanent magnets, essentially a DC

(direct current). The force between two permanent magnets is caused by the

electronic properties of the material, so photons must be involved with

the magnetic attraction between the two masses?

the term is virtual photon. it carries no energy

energy = plancks constant x frequency

frequency is null so wavelength is irrelevant.

the way i understand it is it has no energy, so no momentum, therefore it can curve around easily when it interacts with charged particles.

Virtual photons do carry energy, but they can violate conservation of energy. The duration for which they can depends on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, so as the violation gets longer, the wavelength does too, since the energy must decrease.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/virtual-particle