Do Atomic Particles Absorb or Reflect Light?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the interaction of atomic particles with light, specifically whether they absorb or reflect light. The scope includes theoretical considerations of atomic behavior, scattering, and the implications of high-energy interactions with photons.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that atomic particles can absorb light and then re-emit it at possibly different wavelengths.
  • Others argue that the interaction between atoms and light is complex, depending on the wavelength of the light and the optical properties of the interacting object.
  • A participant questions the behavior of a single unbound electron, suggesting it scatters incoming waves regardless of wavelength due to its continuum of energy states.
  • Another participant raises a hypothetical scenario involving a powerful microscope observing an oxygen atom and queries the observable changes when bombarding the atom with a photon.
  • It is suggested that photons from such a microscope could ionize particles they interact with.
  • A reference to another thread is provided for additional insights on light's interaction with particles.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints on how atomic particles interact with light, with no consensus reached on the specifics of absorption, reflection, or scattering. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views present.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the nature of atomic interactions with light, the conditions under which these interactions occur, and the limitations of theoretical models in describing such phenomena.

jobyts
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Do atomic particles absorb light, or reflect them?
 
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Adsorb, then re-emit at possibily different wavelengths.
 
There are lots of ways atoms interact with light, the probability of a particular interaction occurring depends on the wavelength of the light and the optical properties of the object that the light is interacting with.

Claude.
 
Claude Bile said:
There are lots of ways atoms interact with light, the probability of a particular interaction occurring depends on the wavelength of the light and the optical properties of the object that the light is interacting with.

Claude.

Assuming we have just one electron, at what wavelength of the electro-magnetic wave it can penetrate through the electron?
 
Last edited:
A single unbound electron will scatter the incoming wave like crazy, no matter what the wavelength is (some scattered radiation can be regarded as having "passed through" the electron). This is because an unbound electron has a continuum of energy states, as opposed to discrete energy states possessed by an electron bound to a parent atom.

Claude.
 
Allright. Imagine I have a theoretical microscope that is powerful enough to see upto the subatomic particle level. If I look at an oxygen atom through that microscope, and if I bombard that nucleus with just one photon, what difference would I see? Similarly, if I bombard an electron in the oxygen atom with a photon, what would I see?

well, I might not see anything, unless that photon reflected back to my retina; my concern is what change happened to the particle and to the photon?
 
Last edited:
The photons from such a powerful microscope would ionise anything they touched.

Claude.
 

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