dhamim ansari Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 We all know that SOUND is a wave but sound waves cannot transmit through glass if LIGHT is a wave then how can they transmit through glass so can we say that light is a particle. please explain...
ajb Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 We all know that SOUND is a wave but sound waves cannot transmit through glass But then can... the speed of sound in standard glass is about 4540 m/s if LIGHT is a wave then how can they transmit through glass There is no fundamental problem here, so I am not quite sure what you are asking. You could look up geometric optics, or physical optics if you want. so can we say that light is a particle. Yes we can. The quanta of light is a photon.
Strange Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 (edited) We all know that SOUND is a wave but sound waves cannot transmit through glass if LIGHT is a wave then how can they transmit through glass so can we say that light is a particle. please explain... Sound can go through glass (I can hear the traffic outside). But tennis balls can't. Therefore sound (and light) must be a wave. Edited March 2, 2016 by Strange 1
ajb Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 Therefore sound must be a wave. Until you look at molecular vibrations and encounter phonons! Basically, all waves have particle-like properties and all particles have wave-like properties. The distinction is a very classical notion and not one that fits all phenomena we see in nature. But tennis balls can't. My nephew can confirm that golf balls, on the other hand, can go through the windows of his granddad's greenhouse. 3
Strange Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 My nephew can confirm that golf balls, on the other hand, can go through the windows of his granddad's greenhouse. When I was young, we were taking turns bouncing one of those powerballs off a wall on the other side of the street and then catching it. One of us accidentally (I think) bounced it off a huge window: it bounced back, someone caught it. And then the window collapsed (and we ran like crazy!)
Rajnish Kaushik Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 We all know that SOUND is a wave but sound waves cannot transmit through glass if LIGHT is a wave then how can they transmit through glass so can we say that light is a particle. please explain... Light have both particle and wave nature and that's what I learned in 9th grade. There was a huge debate in the time of Newton and there were different scientist suggesting different things and they finally concluded that light have both particle and wave nature
Keiran O'Connor Posted March 8, 2016 Posted March 8, 2016 Was about to start a new thread but seen this on light so I can ask my question here without annoying people with a new thread . Is light the only thing we know of that isn't made up of atoms ? If so can somebody explain why?, can a photon be split ?
Phi for All Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Is light the only thing we know of that isn't made up of atoms ? If so can somebody explain why?, can a photon be split ? Photons are an elementary particle, created inside an atom from energized electrons orbiting the nucleus.
Strange Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Is light the only thing we know of that isn't made up of atoms ? If so can somebody explain why?, can a photon be split ? Well, subatomic particles are (perhaps obviously) not made of atoms. And there are some of those that are not components of atoms, either. E.g. neutrinos or muons.
swansont Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 can a photon be split ? Not as such, but you can achieve the same result — you can have a photon absorbed in a material and two photons emitted that have the same total energy.
Strange Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Is spontaneous parametric down conversion closer to "splitting" a photon?
swansont Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Is spontaneous parametric down conversion closer to "splitting" a photon? Yes. That's what I had in mind with my comment (albeit without any detail)
Keiran O'Connor Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Photons are an elementary particle, created inside an atom from energized electrons orbiting the nucleus. In the same way electricity is created ? Has anybody got a good site to read up about the formation of photons please ?.
ajb Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 Has anybody got a good site to read up about the formation of photons please ?. Basic information about EM radiation and photons can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/21c_pre_2011/radiation/electromagneticradiatonrev1.shtml I get the impression you are not looking for a textbook on QED.
StringJunky Posted March 9, 2016 Posted March 9, 2016 The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman is good... and quite low cost. He has an accessible style. http://www.amazon.co.uk/QED-Strange-Theory-Penguin-Science-x/dp/0140125051
0exegesis Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Sound has much less density of a vibration than light has, no wonder it bounces off glass.
Strange Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Sound has much less density of a vibration than light has, no wonder it bounces off glass. Or, more likely, because they are completely different things.
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