- #1
Quantum of Solace
- 20
- 1
If two photons traveling in the same direction but out of phase cancel each other out, what happens to the energy and momentum?
BvU said:Who says 'they' cancel? What exactly cancels ?
It's illuminating to try to find a counterexample to see why exactly is that impossible. So let us consider non-relativistic free Schrodinger equation in 1 spatial dimension. Suppose that we have two packets, ##\psi_1(x,t)## and ##\psi_2(x,t)##, one moving from the left to the right and the other moving from the right to the left, such that at some time ##t_0## they "collide" and satisfystevendaryl said:2. Assuming that the answer to the first question is "yes", does that imply that two photons can interfere so that there is zero probability of detecting any photon anywhere? I'm pretty sure the answer is "no".
Destructive interference is a phenomenon that occurs when two or more waves with equal frequency and opposite phase combine to form a resultant wave with a lower amplitude or no amplitude at all. This is because the peaks of one wave align with the troughs of the other, canceling out their amplitudes.
Destructive interference does not affect the conservation of momentum. This is because the individual momenta of the waves are still conserved, even though their amplitudes may cancel out. The total momentum before and after the interference remains the same.
No, destructive interference does not cause objects to stop moving. The momentum of the objects is still conserved, and they will continue to move with the same velocity as before the interference. Destructive interference only affects the amplitude of the waves, not the motion of the objects.
The phase difference between waves is a crucial factor in determining the degree of destructive interference. If the phase difference is exactly 180 degrees, the waves will completely cancel out and result in no amplitude. However, if the phase difference is slightly less than 180 degrees, there will still be some residual amplitude after interference.
No, destructive interference only occurs with waves. It is a result of the superposition principle, which states that when two or more waves overlap, their amplitudes are added together. Non-wave phenomena, such as objects colliding, do not exhibit this behavior and therefore do not experience destructive interference.