kvanttivaihteluita

Kvanttivaihtelut, often translated as quantum fluctuations, are temporary, spontaneous appearances and disappearances of particles in empty space, as predicted by quantum field theory. This phenomenon arises from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states that certain pairs of physical properties, such as energy and time, cannot be known with perfect accuracy simultaneously. Even in a vacuum, where there is no matter or energy according to classical physics, there are constant fluctuations in energy. These energy fluctuations can momentarily create pairs of virtual particles, such as electron-positron pairs, which then annihilate each other very quickly.

These virtual particles do not violate the conservation of energy because their existence is fleeting and within the limits allowed by the uncertainty principle. The energy borrowed from the vacuum is repaid almost instantaneously. While these fluctuations are extremely small and difficult to observe directly, they have measurable consequences. For example, they contribute to the Lamb shift in atomic spectra and are thought to be responsible for the Casimir effect, where two closely spaced uncharged conductive plates attract each other due to pressure differences caused by the vacuum fluctuations between them. Kvanttivaihtelut play a fundamental role in our understanding of the quantum vacuum and are a key aspect of modern physics.