my other question on light speed?

Question

given that light is not a single beam but a firing of photons making up a beami have been told that the light hits the wall at specific places much like machine gun bullets and not dragged along the surface llike a continuos beam but then again is anything solid??? everything is made up of atoms at a molecular level held together with??? natures glue lol , then is that argument relativeas a photon in itself has a size and if a beam is made up with lots of these then if they touch then this becomes a continuos beam which can be distorted or bent much like light lol, but if there is little gaps in between these photons then what happens to these spaces and are they complete darknemss as light is not there.....

Answer 1

Actually not, light is not a series of particles fired... it's a wave particle duality which cannot be describe by either wave or particle theory alone. As such, light does NOT strike a screen like a series of machine gun bullets. Rather it propegates like a wave and (if conditions are right as in a two slit experiment) can even constructively or destructively interfere with itself.

I think of photons as packets of energy travelling along a wave, which is the best way it's always made sense to me. Light is both particle and wave.

Answer 2

Not quite sure, are you talking about warped beam?

As the velocity of an object relative to an observer increases, it's length decreases. Time intervals in a frame are shorter.
The mass of a moving object increases with its velocity. As the the velocity approaches the speed of light, the mass approaches infinity, wouldn't infinite energy be required to make that beam? Therefore, the gaps between photons would still have light because of the energy used?
Even if it becomes a continuous beam and those spaces were complete darkness; once that beam hits a mass, doesn't light splinter off much like a firework display. I assume reducing speed, not sure about that either!
However, I shall pick away at it!
Oh look what you've done, got me in a quandary and I won't be able to let go of this until...

Happy New Year! Cassandra

Answer 3

promethius9594 is correct in his statement that photons exist as both waves and particles - as indeed does everything in the universe. The nature of the photon depends on how you detect, use one experiment it looks like a particle use another it looks like a wave. So in the case of your argument BOTH statements are true! Oh a love QM it's so weird.

Answer 4

light relects off the dust particles in the air and fill up the gaps

Answer 5

As Neils Bohr once said, "If quantum mechanics doesn't confuse you, then you don't really understand it."

Answer 6

ive often thought this very problem but never kew how to word it, sorry for not having an answer for you

Answer 7

go out for a drink, even if its on your own.....you still might get laid, then you wouldnt worry so much

Answer 8

Lighten up ! lolol