Reality Is Making Stuff UP!
From What The If? by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia
March 13, 2026 · 42 min
About this episode
The episode explores the concept of virtual particles and their implications through a humorous thought experiment.
Right now, billions of particles are popping in and out of existence in your pocket. That's not a metaphor — that's quantum mechanics. Inspired by a YouTube video from Anton Petrov about virtual particles turning into real matter, this week's thought experiment asks: what the if virtual particles were the size of badgers? What happens when those badgers start spontaneously appearing at faculty meetings and first dates? Turns out empty space is a lot busier than it looks! Check out Anton Petrov's video that inspired this episode, "Actual Evidence of Virtual Particle Turning Into Real Matter!": https://youtu.be/VXdbffgTMVs?si=uL1hXd5ie4VfU2zq —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let…
People in this episode
Hosts: Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia
Topics covered
- quantum mechanics
- virtual particles
- thought experiment
- science fiction
- spontaneous appearance
Keywords
- quantum mechanics
- virtual particles
- badgers
- thought experiment
- science fiction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Escape Pod, Patreon, What The If?
Books & works: The Automatic Grocery Store
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