Yes, atomic theory is still just theory. That which a scanning tunneling microscope observes may indeed not actually fit the theory.
BTW, if you could not trust your senses, you would not be able to maneuver in your environment. So don’t try claim that what we experience as real is wholly theoretical, nor jumping to conclusion.
If a virtual particle so-called is not (as I described) assigning (or ascribing) particle status to energy, then how come it is that you cannot tell me what it is?
Where is the environment that you experience?
If a virtual particle so-called is not (as I described) assigning (or ascribing) particle status to energy, then how come it is that you cannot tell me what it is?
A virtual particle, just as a real one, is defined by science. The defining quality of a virtual particle is that its properties don't exceed the limits placed on it by the Uncertainty Principle.