For eksempel er de udvekslingspartikler, der formidler den [[Stærk kernekraft|stærke kernekraft]], (som er ansvarlig for at holde sammen på [[atomkerne]]r,) virtuelle partikler: De eksisterer lige akkurat længe nok til at vandre fra én nukleon ([[proton]] eller [[neutron]]) i atomkernen til den næste, og skaber derved bindingen imellem nukleonerne.
Virtuelle partikler dukker op overalt, inclinkl. i [[vakuum]]. Man kan godt omdanne virtuelle partikler til "almindelige" kvantemekaniske partikler.<ref>[http://phys.org/news/2011-11-scientists-vacuum.html Nov 17, 2011, phys.org: Scientists create light from vacuum] Citat: "... Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have succeeded in creating light [ [[foton]]partikler ] from vacuum – observing an effect first predicted over 40 years ago...In fact, the vacuum is full of various particles that are continuously fluctuating in and out of existence. They appear, exist for a brief moment and then disappear again. Since their existence is so fleeting, they are usually referred to as virtual particles... By changing the direction of the magnetic field several billions of times a second the scientists were able to make the “mirror” vibrate at a speed of up to 25 percent of the speed of light..."Relatively little energy is therefore required in order to excite them out of their virtual state. In principle, one could also create other particles from vacuum, such as electrons or protons, but that would require a lot more energy."..."</ref> Måske kan fx kvantemekaniske [[antipartikler]], som indgår i [[antistof (fysik)|antistof]], laves økonomisk på denne måde.
