(May 12, 2016 at 9:09 pm)RoadRunner79 Wrote: Why do they think these things poof [into] existence without any cause?
Virtual particles have real, measurable and verifiable effects. They play a key role in understanding several elements of quantum mechanics, including subtle energy shifts within atoms and Hawking radiation around black holes. Here is a link to an article describing some of the effects...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl...icles-rea/
You can also do a search for Virtual Particles, Hawking Radiation, and the Casimir effect to learn more. Many popular science books address these, including the one I just finished by Sean Carroll titled, From Eternity to Here.