Why, when you turn off a lightbulb, does the light currently in the room go away? The photons are still there, bouncing around, but they don't act the same as when the light is on. Shouldn't you see the photons still moving around reflecting off of surfaces and reaching your eyes? Yes, they can leak out in various places in the room, but say you have a perfectly sealed box of mirrors with a lightbulb inside. When you turn that light off, where do the photons go? They don't go throught the mirrors; then the box would glow, they don't dissapear; impossible, and they don't stick around; the inside of the box would be perpetually light. I want real, supportive answers based on scientific fact.
2007-01-27 05:05:45 · 6 answers · asked by John Doe IV 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
That is a good question. I have often wondered the same thing. Theoretically it is a pretty good idea, but unfortunately there is no such thing as a perfect mirror.
Photons are absorbed by materials when they pass through or come into contact with the material.
here is a good description from the physics dept. from Arizona State University:
"The absorption of photons in solids depends on the number of electrons that can accept a transfer of energy from the photon. Not all electrons meet this criterion. Some electrons are so tightly bound to their orbital around the atomic nucleus that the photon energy is unable to break the bonds. Other electrons are involved in the bonding between atoms and cannot be freed by the energy of the incident photons. For example, ordinary window glass is transparent to visible photons, but is strongly absorbent to ultraviolet radiation where the photons have energies only a few times greater than that of visible light."
So basically your photons will be absorbed, very rapidly. Since light travels so fast, it will bounce many many times. Unless the mirrors and everything inside the box is an ideal mirror (which I am not sure exists) then your photons will be absorbed most likely before you realize it. If you did have a perfect mirror, it would be impossible to tell if you had trapped light, without letting it out. I suppose you could turn out the switch and then wait for a while and then open a hole to see if a burst of light came out, but it would be impossible to know if you had trapped light forever.
An interesting article I came across recently describes stopping light and then later releasing it, you should check it out here: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/27mar_stoplight.htm
2007-01-27 05:40:10 · answer #1 · answered by Kyle 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Light gets absorbed and turned into heat energy unless the box is made from a perfect mirror, which there is no such thing in reality.
The same goes for sound. Sound does not echo forever in a closed room. The fabric in the room and the walls absorb the sound.
2007-01-27 05:13:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2016-12-03 02:57:30 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when the lamp is switched off it becomes an open circuit and the flow of electrons is stopped and therefore the reason
2007-01-27 05:28:54 · answer #4 · answered by imdbestt 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It has to do with your eyes. Actual light needs to hit the retina.
2007-01-27 05:15:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
tiny creatures called "light elves" steal all the light.
2007-01-27 05:28:23 · answer #6 · answered by im_here_4_the_laughs 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋