Editing Zero-point energy (section)

== Etymology and terminology ==
The term '''zero-point energy (ZPE)''' [[Calque|is a translation]] from the German '''{{lang|de|Nullpunktsenergie}}'''.{{sfnp|Einstein|1995|pp=270–285}} Sometimes used interchangeably with it are the terms '''zero-point radiation''' and '''ground state energy'''. The term '''zero-point field''' ('''ZPF''') can be used when referring to a specific vacuum field, for instance the [[QED vacuum]] which specifically deals with [[quantum electrodynamics]] (e.g., electromagnetic interactions between photons, electrons and the vacuum) or the [[QCD vacuum]] which deals with [[quantum chromodynamics]] (e.g., [[color charge]] interactions between quarks, gluons and the vacuum). A vacuum can be viewed not as empty space but as the combination of all zero-point fields. In [[quantum field theory]] this combination of fields is called the vacuum state, its associated zero-point energy is called the [[vacuum energy]] and the average energy value is called the [[vacuum expectation value]] (VEV) also called its '''condensate'''.