KneD, suppose the light source only emitted one photon per second and the detector collected these photons over time. There would still be a diffraction pattern even though the photons could not interact with each other. The macroscopic concepts of ballistics and waves provide little intuition for these concepts. Equations describe how the phenomenon happens but not why.
JamesR, this is a tad odd to me. They have been teaching me that the definition of photon is "A unit or measurement of an electromagnetic emission/signal". And I was under the impression that these could interact when in phase or 180 out of phase, in constructive or destructive interference.
Ah, yes, Adam. You're right that light waves can interfere constructively and destructively. In the photon picture, destructive interference simply means that no photons are present. If you think of photons as little billiard balls rather than waves, they cannot bounce off each other. (Compare electrons, for example, which repel each other electrostatically.)
Confused... You are confusing me.then,in terms of photon interactions can you explain constructive and destructive interference? bye!
Photons, like all quantum objects (i.e. everything), are probability waves. It is those waves which interfere constructively and destructively. Where destructive interference happens, you are less likely to detect a photon. Where constructive interference happens, you're more likely to find a photon. If the interference is totally destructive, you will never find a photon in that position.
It's not ust quantum-hoodoo and probabilities. Constructive and destructive interference in waves are real, observable, measurable phenomena. Get yourself a rectangular water tank, preferably glass, with paddles across the width at each end which can move up and down to create waves. Start them moving around, making waves, and you've got two sets of waves moving back and forth in the tank. However, if the two from each end are precisely 180 degrees out of phase, they will cancel each otehr out and result in calm flat water. By 180 degrees out of phase, I mean that if one paddle is beating precisely on a count of 1 and 3, and the other is beating precisely on a count of 2 and 4, they are exact opposites. However, if they are beating exactly at the same time with the same force, they produce waves which will meet in the middle at exactly the same state/stage, and this will produce a wave of double height/power. This is suspected to be the cause of those "freak" waves in the ocean that knock over oil rigs and such. This same thing occurs in electromagnetic emissions. If waves are precisely in phase or 180 degrees out of phase, they interact as described.
Is the concept that you refer to relatied to (psi)^2(that is which tells us about the probability to find an electron in an orbital?)... what i mean is that is the probablility of finding a finding a photon in a proximity=(psi)^2... curious... bye!
c'est moi, it's about time other nations took notice of that horrible tradition. We've been living with that monster for a century.
zion: Here's a technical description (in one dimension): The wavefunction psi(x) gives the <i>probability amplitude</i> for finding a particle at position x. psi<sup>2</sup>(x) is the <i>probability density</i> (i.e. the probability per unit length) of finding the particle at position x. To calculate the probability that the particle is found between positions x=a and x=b, you need to integrate the probability density: Probability = Integral (from a to b) of psi<sup>2</sup>(x) dx
How light bends In slit experiments, light interacts with the edges of slits. The interaction actually 'refracts' those photons, electrons, etc. that 'hit' the very thin slit edges. Refraction is induced where photons hit very thin parts of the slit (ideally monoatomic +/-thicknesses). Photonic energy is transferred to outer electrons of the slit material atoms, boosting their (the atom's electrons) energy levels. As the electron energies fall-back to their 'normal' state, the excess energy is emitted as secondary photonic energy - probably of a frequency close (or harmonic?) to that of the impinging photon. So the poorly-understood "bending of light" around slit edges is dominantly a refraction process. The process does not work well when slit material thickness exceeds the ability of the impinging photon to penetrate the material completely. This explanation 'works for me' . . . no one has been able to explain this (light bending) ever since Young first discribed the diffraction phenomenon. I have a brief write-up on this "theory", send me an email and I'll forward it to you. Also, please nominate me for the Nobel Prize in Physics!! . . . haha! Regards, Bill
easy to answer this its because photons have mass.. anything with mass can be effected by the pull of gravity
photons do have mass.. its almost non exsistant mass but they do have mass.. optical tweasers are a representation of this thought someone of your stature on here would know that
Kid, stop trying to shred with the big dogs, you just end up embarrassing yourself. Photons have no rest mass, but they have momentum.
Origin . . . . "been there . . . read that" . . . .however doesn't explain HOW light interacts with slit or HOW diffraction occurs . . . . try again . . .wlminex
