ellipsis Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 This may seem like a very basic question, but... Since light exhibits two properties, can light intensity be thought of as the amplitude when it's a wave, and the number of particles present in a certain area when it's a particle? Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellipsis Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 I read something about the amplitude of the wave. It said that the amplitude of a wave shows how much energy the wave has, which in turn suggests that intensity is related to energy. But isn't the energy of light related to the frequency? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riogho Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Energy is related to frequency. Energy and Intensity have nothing to do with each other. Your source is all screwed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Depends on what you mean by "intensity". Wikipedia says there are four ways you can define it. Which do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 The energy of individule photons is related to frequency, but the intensity is a measure of the energy of a light beam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellipsis Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Well, I found out about the amplitude of a wave here: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/waves/u10l2c.html Since amplitude also shows intensity, I want to know if intensity is related to energy. I didn't know there are that many "intensities"... Klaynos, what do you mean by "measure of the energy of a light beam"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Well it's normally an average (over time) of the energy flux (that's energy/unit area). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellipsis Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 I see... Thank you all for replying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vosh Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 The energy of individule photons is related to frequency, but the intensity is a measure of the energy of a light beam. I am currently struggling to understand this. Yeah... Anyone who wants to expand on it, I would be much obliged. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedI am currently struggling to understand this. Yeah... Anyone who wants to expand on it, I would be much obliged. Looking around, I found one explanation that made sense to me. Frequency is associated with the energy of individual photons, and amplitude is associated with the number of photons per unit area. I guess that follows. A brighter light is more light... Huh, I hate how after wrestling with something it seems like it should have been obvious in the beginning. I 'toopid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proton Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Yes. I disagree. The intensity of light is not proportional to the amplitude but to the square of the amplitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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