How can one explain attraction between charged particles using the concept of photon exchange?
Sir, This is Santosh Kumar. I have just completed my masters in physics. For quite some time a question is bothering me, and that ‘s ”how the exchange of photons lead to attraction between two oppositely charged particles”. The repulsion is still easier to visualize, but in case of attraction it becomes slightly non trivial. Plz do reply… Thanx Santosh Kumar Pre. Ph.D. School of Physical Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, India Hi You could possibly think about it like this: the force results from not only the photon exchange but also the coupling “factors” that depend on the charge of the two particles. The photon exchange results in a – (repulsive if you wish) interaction and the coupling factors are the sign of the charge. So for two electrons we have – times – times – or an overall – sign or replusion. For proton plus electron we have – – + which results in + or overall attractive force.
