Little bundles of... Electromagnetic energy:
the photon
Well, I have just created my worst enemy by creating this page. We will embark on this journey together (unless of course you only read the parts you need for your already late homework, then I will likely be on this journey all alone) in discovering the secrets of light-- the photon!
The Definition of a Photon, translated:
If you Google search "photon definition", this is your result right up at the top. Google tells you it with out having to click on any link, and also without giving me any citation or source to give you.
pho·ton
ˈfōtän/
noun: PHYSICS
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.
Well, that means very little to the average person without intense studying of the definition and a little more Google-ing. Decoding this definition into non-linguist and non-physicist terms is probably going to give you a much better idea of the concept itself.
Photon is pronounced "Foe-tawn" (for the "tawn" part, you don't have to saw "tawn" exactly, but just know it's not ton or tone).
It is a particle representing a discrete bundle (an actual definition of quantum is "a discrete quantity of energy proportional in size to the frequency of radiation it represents", that's translated from Google's definition) of light or electric fields/current or magnetic fields. A photon has energy corresponding to the radiation frequency, but has zero rest mass. (For more interesting information on the fact that a photon has energy but "zero rest mass" and an explanation of a photon's mass go to: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/photon_mass.html).
I hope that helped a little bit, but it is extremely difficult to describe something as complicated as a photon in simple terms. "A photon is a light particle," may make more sense to you, but it does not fully encompass the complexity of the subject.
Basic Properties of a Photon:
For More Information:
Go to:
http://physics.about.com/od/lightoptics/f/photon.htm
The Definition of a Photon, translated:
If you Google search "photon definition", this is your result right up at the top. Google tells you it with out having to click on any link, and also without giving me any citation or source to give you.
pho·ton
ˈfōtän/
noun: PHYSICS
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.
Well, that means very little to the average person without intense studying of the definition and a little more Google-ing. Decoding this definition into non-linguist and non-physicist terms is probably going to give you a much better idea of the concept itself.
Photon is pronounced "Foe-tawn" (for the "tawn" part, you don't have to saw "tawn" exactly, but just know it's not ton or tone).
It is a particle representing a discrete bundle (an actual definition of quantum is "a discrete quantity of energy proportional in size to the frequency of radiation it represents", that's translated from Google's definition) of light or electric fields/current or magnetic fields. A photon has energy corresponding to the radiation frequency, but has zero rest mass. (For more interesting information on the fact that a photon has energy but "zero rest mass" and an explanation of a photon's mass go to: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/photon_mass.html).
I hope that helped a little bit, but it is extremely difficult to describe something as complicated as a photon in simple terms. "A photon is a light particle," may make more sense to you, but it does not fully encompass the complexity of the subject.
Basic Properties of a Photon:
- It moves constantly at the speed of light (299,792,458 m / s) in free space.
- carries energy and momentum
- can behave like a particle in interactions, like collisions, with other particles.
- can destroyed when radiation is absorbed and created when radiation is emitted.
- has properties of a wave and a particle, and even though it is used as particle, wave calculations (frequency, wave-length, etc) can be made.
For More Information:
Go to:
http://physics.about.com/od/lightoptics/f/photon.htm