"An elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force."
- The idea that electromagnetic radiation can be described as photons or quanta of energy.
Wave-particle duality: The concept that electromagnetic radiation behaves both as a wave and as a particle.
Blackbody radiation: The electromagnetic radiation emitted by a perfect absorber of radiation, which serves as a theoretical model for the behavior of real systems.
Planck's law: A mathematical relationship between the energy of radiation and its frequency, developed by Max Planck to explain blackbody radiation.
Photoelectric effect: The emission of electrons from a metal surface when it is exposed to electromagnetic radiation, providing evidence for the particle nature of light.
Photon: The smallest unit of electromagnetic radiation, acting as a particle with energy proportional to its frequency.
Compton scattering: The phenomenon whereby a photon interacts with an electron and loses energy, indicating the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation.
De Broglie wavelength: The wavelength associated with a particle, including electrons and photons, that reflects its wave-like properties.
Frequency doubling: The conversion of a single photon with a given frequency into two photons with double that frequency, demonstrating the quantization of electromagnetic radiation.
Bloch sphere: A geometrical representation of the quantum state of a single qubit, including the phase and amplitude of its electromagnetic radiation.
Quantum electrodynamics (QED): A quantum field theory that describes the interactions between electromagnetic fields and charged particles, incorporating the quantization of electromagnetic radiation.
Cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED): A subfield of QED that studies the interaction between atomic systems and electromagnetic radiation in confined spaces, such as cavities.
Quantum dots: Small crystals that can trap single electrons or photons, providing a platform for studying the quantization of electromagnetic radiation.
Quantum computing: A field that exploits the quantum properties of electromagnetic radiation, such as superposition and entanglement, for performing computational tasks.
Quantum cryptography: A technique that uses the quantization of electromagnetic radiation to encode information securely, leveraging the uncertainty principle and entanglement.
Energy Quantization: The energy of electromagnetic radiation is quantized, meaning it can only exist in certain discrete energy states.
Photon Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation is composed of photons, which are discrete packets of energy that exhibit wave-particle duality.
Time Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation is emitted and absorbed in discrete time intervals, known as quanta.
Frequency Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation can exist only in certain frequencies, which are determined by the energy of the photons.
Amplitude Quantization: The amplitude of electromagnetic radiation is quantized, meaning it can only take on certain discrete values.
Phase Quantization: The phase of electromagnetic radiation is quantized, meaning it can only exist in certain discrete phases.
Wavelength Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation can exist only in certain wavelengths, which are related to the frequency of the photons.
Polarization Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation can be polarized, and the polarization can only exist in certain discrete states.
Spin Quantization: Photons have intrinsic spin, which is quantized and can only exist in certain discrete states.
Angular Momentum Quantization: Electromagnetic radiation has orbital angular momentum, which is quantized and can only exist in certain discrete values.
"They always move at the speed of light in vacuum, 299792458 m/s (or about 186,282 mi/s)."
"As with other elementary particles, photons are best explained by quantum mechanics and exhibit wave-particle duality, their behavior featuring properties of both waves and particles."
"To explain the photoelectric effect, Einstein introduced the idea that light itself is made of discrete units of energy."
"In 1926, Gilbert N. Lewis popularized the term photon for these energy units."
"Subsequently, many other experiments validated Einstein's approach."
"In the Standard Model of particle physics, photons and other elementary particles are described as a necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime."
"The photon concept has led to momentous advances in experimental and theoretical physics, including lasers, Bose–Einstein condensation, quantum field theory, and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics."
"It has been applied to photochemistry, high-resolution microscopy, and measurements of molecular distances."
"Moreover, photons have been studied as elements of quantum computers."
"Moreover, photons have been studied for applications in optical imaging."
"Moreover, photons have been studied for applications in optical communication such as quantum cryptography."
"The intrinsic properties of particles, such as charge, mass, and spin, are determined by gauge symmetry."
"The modern photon concept originated during the first two decades of the 20th century with the work of Albert Einstein, who built upon the research of Max Planck."
"Planck proposed that the energy stored within a material object should be regarded as composed of an integer number of discrete, equal-sized parts."
"The photon belongs to the class of boson particles."
"They are the force carrier for the electromagnetic force."
"Photons are massless."
"They always move at the speed of light in vacuum but can slightly slow down or change direction in different mediums."
"Photons are best explained by quantum mechanics."