Is there any relation between wavelength and brightness?

sophiecentaur

The pixel and the photon issue are totally separate issues. However, because you are implementing your simulation in terms of discrete quantities, you may feel pressured into the quantised way of thinking.

I can't think of many light sources of interest (certainly not cosmic ones) that are monochromatic (why not use the right word, eh?) Funnily enough, if you were to be addressing the problem of laser light, you would really be forced into using a wave approach, which would add complication.

tris_d

How else would you calculate brightness per pixel?


It's about stars and galaxies, and in actuality I guess they do not emit monochromatic light, but if it can be approximated by taking an average, or if the actual measurements are already approximated in such way, then that should be good enough for me too.

Besides, I could make light sources output any range of photons with different wavelengths in whatever proportion, if necessary. It's just a matter of how actual measurements look like, which I'm in the process of figuring out right now by looking at star databases and the way they present such information.


I thought lasers are monochromatic and that intensity of a laser is therefore directly proportional to the number of photons emitted.

sophiecentaur

Yes. Laser light is monochromatic but it is so coherent that it can produce speckles and patterns that 'ordinary' light sources do not. It would be difficult to model (except that your beloved photons per second per sqmetre would actually apply)

You ? Well, that was my whole point. There is a 2:1 ratio of energies of the shortest and longest wavelength photons. It is hardly worth my writing all this again - it's all in earlier posts - but you will surely appreciate the difference between what you get when you count photons and what you get when you measure the energy, for different coloured stars. The accepted way of doing this will take away this problem. Star Magnitude is based on energy flow, so why not just join the club?
There is no more to be said, really. If you want your simulation to be as real as possible then why not just specify things more conventionally? As I have also said before - the actual code would be hardly any different and you would have learned something at the same time.

tris_d

It's all the same to me. If they can measure it, I can simulate it.


I only see problems and limits if I don't convert energy to individual photons.


Energy flow is based on number of photons flow.


To simulate radial spreading of light rays, to be able to model such property as is time interval between arrival of two successive photons, and so I can count photons per pixel.


Photon is more specific way to model light, energy is vague and ambiguous.

tris_d

Simulating double slit experiment is on my to do list. The goal will be to explore if there is any other, less magical, mechanics that can produce interference pattern.

Simon Bridge

Not so: energy is a well-defined core concept in physics. Photons only risks being an incomplete model - but it is your model. Have fun.

tris_d

It's like fluid dynamics, by simulating individual molecules you can get energy, distribution, flow, pressure and what not, but not the other way around. How can photons risk to give incomplete model?

I've read somewhere that measuring distance to some distant galaxies practically boils down to counting photons, where the gap in time interval between two successive photons becomes greater the further galaxy is. How could you model that without modeling individual photons, how could you model that with energy?

sophiecentaur

But how do they give a complete model? I think that you don't know enough about photons to make statements and inferences like that? You need to remember that the photon and wave models are complementary. Neither is 'real'. Somewhere in your head, you are visualising them like little bullets. That explains why you think they can explain everything. But they are not like bullets.
Your simulation will give 'an' answer and it will be good fun to develop. How relevant or accurate it is will depend upon how valid your assumptions are. It is important for the tail (simulation) not to try to wag the dog (actuality).

btw, what sort of simulation can deal, individually, with enough molecules to give an answer in the fluid mechanics of a turbine? I have not come across anything as complex as that. I thought that most treatments were statistical and macroscopic. IS there a reference?

tris_d

What are you referring to, interference? Is that relevant when taking photos of the stars? Can you simulate interference pattern with energy?


I think you are talking about ME, again, it's off topic and unnecessary. What are you doing here, what is this to you, some vanity contest? Ok, I know more about photons than you or anyone else, how about that?


And? You forgot to mention what is your point. The result of the simulation is an IMAGE. That is what defines how the simulation should be handled. When you shoot individual photons they produce discrete individual 'dots' when they hit a detector, and that's what is important here. It's as real as you can get.


There are no assumptions, relation between compound energy of some amount of light and the number of photons is defined by the energy of individual photons. The result will be valid and accurate as much as actual measurement are.

a.) can you simulate radial spreading of light rays with energy?

b.) can you simulate time interval between arrival of two successive photons with energy?


I could make such program, it would just take a long time to compute. Fortunately however photons are much easier to simulate as they do not interact with each other, not in the way that would be relevant for this simulation anyway. -- Don't you have anything better to do? Why do you even care? Did photons kill your dog when you were kid, or something, why do you hate them so much?

sophiecentaur

How can you ask whether interference (diffraction?) is relevant when observing the stars. What Astronomer can ignore diffraction? Why do they all want bigger telescopes? What do you think the Airy Disc is all about? Are you aware that the diameter of the Airy disc varies with wavelength? You are seriously trivialising the Physics involved in the system you are claiming to simulate. It is making a pretty big assumption that a given photon will hit a given pixel - that's what diffraction is all about. Does your simulation do more than to take a basic ray model and then assume that photons are travelling along these rays?

I think you could find writing a valid simulation of fluid molecules could be harder than you think.