Recent content by dlr

Yes, but, I really want to talk about it at the level of protons and electrons. Say, a fast moving chlorine molecule hits a 2nd chlorine molecule. Or rather it's electromagnetic field rams into the electromagnetic field of the 2nd molecule hard enough to ... what? Does molecule 1 get...

I'm thinking of the case when one molecule hits another at high speed and causes a bond to break. Sometimes when a molecule breaks apart into two pieces the reaction is exothermic (gives off heat--causes the resultants to speed up), and sometimes it is endothermic (absorbs heat-- causes the...

Homework Statement According to the molecular biology book I am reading, when a chemical bond breaks, the energy in the bond is released in the form of heat. which is to say, when a chemical bond breaks the entire atom's speed increases (the atom gains 'heat energy'). But what is...

Yes, the force is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the light ray. So then, why does the solar sail move directly away from the light rays hitting it?

OK, but am I'm right in saying the underlying physical mechanism is the interaction of an electromagnetic field with charged particle(s) (ie, electrons)? And, if I understand you correctly, you are objecting that the magnetic field of the photon is so large compared to the size of...

No, I understand what is happening at the macroscopic level. What I don't understand is what is physically happening at the molecular level. Specular reflection: If Specular Reflection doesn't involve an electron absorbing and emitting a photon, how does it actually work at the...

But what is actually happening, physically, at the molecular level? 1) Specular Reflection When the photon "bounces off the surface" that means the photon was absorbed by an electron, and then emitted again, in some random direction, right? Same wavelength, so same energy, so how...

Does heating up the paper cause the photon to change wavelength, or to change amplitude?

"Light, photons, is an electromagnetic field which exerts force on charges --> Push objects." OK, I understand this. The light is an electromagnetic field, and the electromagnetic field interacts with the electrons, and the protons of the material, pushing them back and forth. But why...