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Natural Science Forum / Physics / Particle Physics / May 2006Beyond visible light frequencies - wave or particle?
I know that there is a debate about whether a photon is a particle or a wave. It's easy to generate radio waves by essentially creating an alternating electromagnet, so it seems obvious that the lower frequencies are waves of electromagnetic radiation. When we get into the frequencies of visible light however, it's said that photons behave more like particles than waves. ...Or at least have properties of both. My question is; as you get higher and higher in the frequency spectrum, do "waves" behave more and more like "particles"? Have experiments been done to show that higher frequencies such as X-rays and gamma rays behave more like particles than even photons of light? Thanks in advance, Mike Delete Reply | I know that there is a debate about whether a photon is a particle or a | wave. It's easy to generate radio waves by essentially creating an [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] | behave more like particles than waves. ...Or at least have properties | of both. Photons are quantum objects and must not be treated like you might think. Yes, it seems that higher energy photons have more particle-like properties but IMHO that is just due to the aspect of their energy density. Bigger energy density means more punch in a smaller volume. Or more punch thru a smaller area. | My question is; as you get higher and higher in the frequency spectrum, | do "waves" behave more and more like "particles"? Have | experiments been done to show that higher frequencies such as X-rays | and gamma rays behave more like particles than even photons of light? As far as scattering goes, higher frequency photons can be thought of as being more particle-like. However, in a relativistic medium scenario like our Quantum Vacuum Charge concept, photons would always be "wavicles". The particle properties come from the quantum "vacuum". I will explain this scenario more if you are interested. It's complicated to see the whole picture. FrediFizzx http://www.vacuum-physics.com/QVC/quantum_vacuum_charge.pdf or postscript http://www.vacuum-physics.com/QVC/quantum_vacuum_charge.ps http://www.vacuum-physics.com : Photons are quantum objects and must not be treated like you might : think. Yes, it seems that higher energy photons have more particle-like : properties but IMHO that is just due to the aspect of their energy : density. I hope you won't be offended, but if I have to pick between Richard Feynman's humble opinion and yours, I'm going to have to go with Feynman's. Photons are particles. ----- Richard Schultz schultr@mail.biu.ac.il Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University ----- "Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad." | : Photons are quantum objects and must not be treated like you might | : think. Yes, it seems that higher energy photons have more particle-like [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] | Feynman's humble opinion and yours, I'm going to have to go with Feynman's. | Photons are particles. Not offended at all. ;-) In our relativistic medium picture, photons are instantaneously virtual fermionic pairs so in that aspect they are particle-like. We take Volovik's viewpoint instead of Feynman's. Volovik says it very well in his comprehensive book "The Universe in a Helium Droplet" first paragraph of the Conclusion, "According to the modern view the elementary particles (electrons, neutrinos, quarks, etc.) are excitations of some more fundamental medium called the quantum vacuum. This is the new ether of the 21st century [and last part of the 20th]. The electromagnetic and gravitational fields, as well as the fields transferring the weak and the strong interactions, all represent different types of collective motion of the quantum vacuum." FrediFizzx http://www.vacuum-physics.com >I know that there is a debate about whether a photon is a particle or a >wave. It's easy to generate radio waves by essentially creating an [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >experiments been done to show that higher frequencies such as X-rays >and gamma rays behave more like particles than even photons of light? I think that's a very good question, Mike. Sadly, I'm not sure that you will get much of an answer here. Perhaps you might start with your local university? If you turn anything up, I would be very pleased to hear about it, in the group or privately. I guess a related question might be, if a photon is a light-particle, what is a heat-particle, or a radio-particle, and how would they differ? Cheers,  Signatureralph | >I know that there is a debate about whether a photon is a particle or a | >wave. It's easy to generate radio waves by essentially creating an [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] | I guess a related question might be, if a photon is a light-particle, | what is a heat-particle, or a radio-particle, and how would they differ? Photons are for the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Basically they only differ by, E = hbar*w Where E is energy, hbar is the reduced Planck constant and w is omega, angular frequency. Sometimes you will see the expression "soft" photons and "hard" photons. Radio wave and visible light photons are "soft" and photons with energy more than that of an electron, > m_e*c^2, are "hard" such as gamma ray photons. However, photons are relativistic quantum objects so please don't think of them as classical particles. FrediFizzx Quantum Vacuum Charge papers; http://www.vacuum-physics.com/QVC/quantum_vacuum_charge.pdf or postscript http://www.vacuum-physics.com/QVC/quantum_vacuum_charge.ps http://www.arxiv.org/abs/physics/0601110 http://www.vacuum-physics.com |
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