We had an argument in class today, my science book says it is not proven to be either and that there are theories on what it is.
2007-04-04 08:22:26 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
From what I have read light is a particle that travells a straight path and a wave would be its function.
IE: light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye.
A central concept of quantum mechanics, duality addresses the inadequacy of conventional concepts like "particle" and "wave" to meaningfully describe the behaviour of quantum objects.
2007-04-04 08:38:44 · answer #1 · answered by Yahoo! 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Science books in elementary schools are often outdated (for example centrifugal "force" is not really a force. CetriPETAL is the force.).
Light is a wave and a particle. More precisely, it's a particle that has wavelike properties. They call photons: "packets".
Photoelectric effect and wave particle duality are two things that you can google and get a lot of information.
2007-04-04 15:33:38 · answer #2 · answered by existenz48162 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Light is both a wavelength and a photon at the same time. You have to examine quantum mechanics to really understand how the dichotomy can exist. The super-short answer is that photons are extra-dimensional (they exist in more than three dimensions).
Just like a sphere intersecting a plane appears to be a circle, a photon intersecting three-dimensions appears to be a wavelength. But, in truth there is more to the photon that exists in dimensions not discernible to observation. (you get into quantum theory and mathematics at this point).
So, physically, light is a wavelength, however quantum theory dictates that it is also a particle which exists in at least 10 dimensions and time (this refers to M-theory if your interesting in learning about the extra-dimensional mathematics).
2007-04-04 15:34:32 · answer #3 · answered by The Big Lebowski 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Light can be treated as a wave or a particle (photon) and it can show properties of being either depending on what we chose to measure. We do experiments where we treat light as wave and they look like waves. We do experiments where it should look like particles (photoelectric effect) and it looks like particles. It's called the wave/particle duality. When was your book published ? 1920 ?
2007-04-04 15:31:47 · answer #4 · answered by Gene 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
wave lengths are theories, period. they are too small to be scene, just as elements are, and are projected only. ask this question in class tomorrow, as i was tricked in college.
who was the first person to see the atom?
answer: no one, as electron microscopes shoot light down a beam and where matter is, a shadow is cast, and an image portrayed. similar to that of wave lengths
2007-04-04 15:32:16 · answer #5 · answered by Falcon Man 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I was always taught that light is a wave but travels in straight lines (as we know) However I am unable to explain how this can be proved.
2007-04-04 15:27:35 · answer #6 · answered by bob g 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
EVERYTHING has wave-like properties. As to what that means about it's intrinsic nature is a question for the philosophers. Scientists can only discuss what is actually observable.
2007-04-04 15:26:59 · answer #7 · answered by indiana_jones_andthelastcrusade 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Light is sent in packets of energy called photons.
2007-04-04 15:29:34 · answer #8 · answered by Chelsea 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it really is both--it can be split through a prism, it can "bounce" off of things...i think its one of those things we cant give an exact answer to. human minds are not meant to fathom the intelligence behind nature and the design of it
2007-04-04 15:30:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Light travels in waves but it is radiation.
2007-04-04 15:25:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋