Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) integrates the concept of virtual particles with quantum mechanics to explain phenomena like electromagnetism and action at a distance. Developed in the mid-20th century, QED describes the mechanisms of electromagnetic and weak interactions, where virtual particles mediate electromagnetic interactions.1
Quantum field theories suggest that space-time is filled with virtual particles that spontaneously appear and disappear. These interactions between virtual and observable particles give rise to all forces and energies, with matter acquiring mass through interactions with virtual particles.
This theoretical framework aims to explain the behavior of galaxies without relying on constructs such as dark matter or other existing theories, including those by Hawking (2011).
The electric field of a particle polarises the surrounding virtual particles:
The electric field itself is the ongoing polarization of locally emerging virtual particle pairs [or virtual photons progressing at lightspeed]
Virtual photons can not move through spacetime. They seem to be fixed to a ‘frame’. All that moves though space is the polarisation as a quality.