Could photons emitted by high velocity electrons have a specific emission angle?

  • Level: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Skeptick
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Photon
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
Sign up Log in
3 replies · 3K views
Skeptick
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Assumptions
A photon exist in three dimensions so it has length, width and height.

In fig 2 I show and electron that is stationary so it is in a moving frame of reference with a very small velocity say 10 m/sec. This fig is snapshots taken of the electron a times 1,2,3,4 etc as a photon is emitted by the electron and as can be seen the photon is emitted perpendicular to the average body of the electron.

In fig 1 I show the same set of snapshots except now the electron is in a moving frame of reference traveling at say 0.99 C. A t1 the photon has just started to be emitted from the electron, at t2 it is a little further out, as the photon has a finite length and so forth until it is completely emmitted.

I predict that at high velocities photons will emit at a different angle as opposed to photon emitted by a stationary or low velocity electron.

Is I possible at high velocity the photon may actually double back on itself and re-enter the electron? In which case electrons at high velocity will only be able to emit photons at specific angles ?

If there is resistance to the emmission then this would somehow create a doppler effect to wouldn't it?
 
Attachments
  • fig 1.JPG
    fig 1.JPG
    7.1 KB · Views: 410
  • fig 2.JPG
    fig 2.JPG
    6.1 KB · Views: 434
Physics news on Phys.org

Discussion

if this is right what effects would this have on a laser at very high velocity ?
 
If the emmission angle of the laser was at and angle to the direction of travle of the MFR
 
Skeptick said:
A photon exist in three dimensions so it has length, width and height.
A photon is a quantum of an EM wave, so since the wave propagates in all three spatial dimensions I think it is OK to say a photon exists in all three spatial dimensions in some sense. However, I doubt that you can assign unique values for the length, width, and height of a photon.

Skeptick said:
I predict that at high velocities photons will emit at a different angle as opposed to photon emitted by a stationary or low velocity electron.
If you boost the EM field equations you will indeed see that the angle of propagation changes. I think this idea is simplified in the wave-4-vector notation.

Skeptick said:
Is I possible at high velocity the photon may actually double back on itself and re-enter the electron? In which case electrons at high velocity will only be able to emit photons at specific angles ?
Only if the velocity of the particle is greater than the speed of light in the medium. When this happens you get Cherenkov radiation which is the EM equivalent of a bow wake or sonic boom. Of course, this is not possible in free space.