When a photon is traveling through space, is it really physically oscillating (as in a physical translation or deviation from its velocity vector), or does it just have wavelike properties (such as its sinusoidal electric and magnetic fields)?
2007-02-20 17:36:24 · 6 answers · asked by Brian 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
This may not answer your question, but it might help you nonetheless. Try not to worry about confusion over whether photons, etc., are particles or waves. It's not so black and white, where it must be one or the other. In a way it's a third thing that behaves one way under some circumstances, the other way under other circumstances.
My opinion is that there's only a third thing that we see as one or the other. It ought to be even simpler than our current dualistic perspective, but somehow it's not. I guess we have to unlearn a couple centuries of either/or thinking.
2007-02-20 17:53:07 · answer #1 · answered by Steve Funyon 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In modern physics, the photon is the elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena. It mediates electromagnetic interactions and makes up all forms of light. The photon has zero invariant mass and travels at the constant speed c, the speed of light in empty space. However, in the presence of matter, a photon can be absorbed, transferring energy and momentum proportional to its frequency. Like all quanta, the photon has both wave and particle properties, exhibiting wave–particle duality.
2007-02-20 17:45:53 · answer #2 · answered by faiza_t 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, photon don't travel in 'wave.' When you talk about light as photon it behave as though it is particle and not wave. When you're dealing with wave aspects of light, particle description goes out the window. That's wave/particle duality people talk about. Light is both particle and wave, but not some hybrid mixture of both.
2007-02-20 19:47:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
are not the two seen gentle and radio waves styles of electro-magnetic radiation (like microwaves, x-rays, IR or UV radiation, etc.)? maybe all electro-magnetic radiation travels on a similar speed. i actually do no longer understand, yet maybe the frequency and wavelength have no longer something to do with the commute speed...? do no longer confuse radio waves (electro-magnetic radiation) with sound waves (condensed, pulsed waves of air or water molecules). Sound waves quite do commute lots slower than gentle waves, yet radio waves at the instant are not comparable to sound waves.
2016-11-24 21:29:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From my understanding, we're not even sure if something is actually "travelling" or if it's more of a potentiality that is propagating at the speed of light. In other words, we're not even sure if something exists in the time/space between emission and detection.
I know it dounds wierd, but that's modern physics.
(I'm not an expert, but that's how I understand it)
2007-02-20 17:45:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
give the guy who answers this one the nobel prize.
2007-02-20 19:24:59 · answer #6 · answered by noonehomebutlightsareon 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋