Do Virtual Particals have Mass?

[Earl]

If space is a boiling broth of Virtual Particles do these have a combined mass?

[acey]

Yes, and they have energy. But it isn't mass you can detect or energy that can be used to do work (though it can be indirectly observed through something called the Casimir Effect).

Because of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle you can have, in effect, a certain amount of energy existing for a very short time without anybody noticing (i.e. without violating energy conservation). That's what virtual particles are.

Casimir effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virtual particle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[DarkStar7]

Now since there is as acknowledged by Juliano a Time/Energy relationship in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and since time at a Event Horizon of a BH has stopped doesn't this mean we have a huge amount of potential energy to drive a gamma ray burst?

[JulianO]

Now since there is as acknowledged by Juliano a Time/Energy relationship in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle,

Well I'm flattered, but its not my theory, but a derivation from Heisenberg.

and since time at a Event Horizon of a BH has stopped doesn't this mean we have a huge amount of potential energy to drive a gamma ray burst?

Time runs fine at the event Horizon, it just appears to have stopped to external observers due to the gravitation effects on the light used to observe it. To someone in a spaceship, it would be a little like going through the sound barrier, rather a damp squib of an effect for those on board - they would be fairly indifferent to passing through it, although depending on the size of the black hole they might already be spaghettified, and so not be in a good state to appreciate it.