Question

Can anybody give me an example of a Photon? And how it would work in action? (If you can, I would like to have MULTIPLE examples) Thank you! :)

Answer 1

Photon .. you mean particle of light?

Answer 2

Yes. I know the definition which is: a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. A photon carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency but has zero rest mass.

But I need an example of how it works.

Answer 3

Ok.. lets start with this question

what do you think light is?

Answer 4

the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.

Answer 5

Fair enough, but what you think its made of? i mean if you could maybe stop time, and maybe look at very fundamental level.. what you think light basically is?

Answer 6

Particles, and wavelengths?

Answer 7

They are both so contradicting you know?

do you think light is like maybe ripples of water waves you get in pond when u throw stones??

or are they like streams of tomatoes .. being hurled at you?

Answer 8

Yes, it is like ripples.

Answer 9

correct.. one last question.. ripples of water waves have water particles oscillating..

what do you think is oscillating when it comes to light? what is waving in light wave?

Answer 10

Light particles? Since in water waves it would be water particles.. I think.

Answer 11

well.. there are no such light particles.. u see for a wave we need MEDIUM.. so like water can be medium for water waves
string the medium for string waves..
so you basically need a medium for a wave to travel.. but light travels in ABSOLUTE vacuum, which has no medium what so ever..
so that question WHAT IS waving. has been around for a long time, until Faraday and Maxwell did their grand unification theory and proved that light consists of not PARTICLES oscillating , but Fields Electric fields, and Magnetic fields oscillating.. nothing like any other wave before..

so that is the WAVE THEORY OF light.. make sense right?

Answer 12

Ohhhh...Ok. I got it. Thanks!

Answer 13

Alright..
now in the early 20th century.. we started observing phenomenon which JUST COULDN"T be explained using wave theory.. it just didn't make ANY sense at all.. one such was called the blackbody radiation.. in short .. if you heat a body, it starts giving out light of all frequencies.. but different frequencies have different energy. and that depends on temperature.. it was found that.. at low temperature (like room), Most of energy is in infra red region (like we are all emmiting infra red).. and as temperature rises, the max energy gets transfered to higher and higher frequencies.. like if you heat a metal rod.. it glows red hot? .. see at high temperature now max energy is shifted from infra red to red(which we can see), then it would be blue and so on..

THIs phenomenon could be explained by the wave thoery.. it just horribly failed.. MISERABLy.. and in the what he called as And i quote "an act of despair" Max planck came up with this totally RADICAL theory of light called.. Drum rolls

THE QUANTUM THEORY OF light..

he says.. no no light ain't wave.. no no.. energy is not transmitted continuosly like ripples of water, but its like tomatoes. streams of PARTICLES shot out from the source.. and every particle has a definite energy.. the word QUANTUM says.. light cannot have any energy (like what wave theory says), but only discrete

for ex. if a quanta has 3 units of energy then

light can either have 1 photon --3 units
or 2 photons .\--6 units
or 10 photons --- 30 units

but cannot have 5 units of energy .. thats what quantum theory of light is..!

Answer 14

http://www.grandinetti.org/Teaching/Chem121/Lectures/QMLight