lew (08/17/82)
Electrons and positrons are two aspects of the same thing. That is, quantum electrodynamics treats them in a unified manner. But even more specifically, there are events which are explained as being due to electron interaction in one reference frame, and due to positron interaction in another. Such a pair of events is the interaction of an electron with two other particles ( say photons ) separated by a space-like interval ( Don Chan are you there? ). In one frame the electron comes along, interacts with one photon, then hops as it were, to the side (faster than the speed of light), interacts with another photon, and continues on. But since the interval is space-like, there are frames in which the electron hops backward in time. That is the second event (as above) precedes the first. In these frames the second event is described as a virtual electron-positron pair creation ( out of the photon ). The electron comes along and recombines with the positron ( scattering a photon in the process ). This frees the virtual electron into reality. This example shows that an electron travelling back in time is the same as a positron travelling forward in time. The idea that one electron weaves its way through space-time is a fanciful extrapolation of this quite legitimate quantum electrodynamical concept. I once heard that Richard Feynman made a plea that people not write to him about this. Reference - Richard Feynman, Theory of Fundamental Processes Lew Mammel, Jr. - BTL Indian Hill