Do just electrons emit photons?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on whether only electrons emit photons or if atoms and molecules can also emit radiation. Participants explore the mechanisms behind photon emission, including the roles of molecular rotation and vibration, as well as the implications for phenomena like blackbody radiation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that electrons are known to emit photons, but question whether atoms and molecules can do so as well.
  • One participant suggests that the emission of photons is linked to changes in energy within atomic or molecular systems, implying that relaxation processes lead to photon emission.
  • Another participant raises the idea that molecular rotation and bond stretching might also lead to radiation, separate from electron behavior.
  • Concerns are expressed about whether radiation is solely due to electrons and protons or if molecular movements contribute independently.
  • A participant emphasizes that the arrangement of charges within a molecule affects radiation, suggesting that molecular dynamics play a significant role in photon emission.
  • Discussion includes the complexity of energy states in solids and how collective behaviors of atoms and molecules lead to emergent properties like phonons, which are relevant to understanding radiation in condensed matter.
  • Questions are posed about the relationship between thermal radiation and electron energy level transitions versus molecular movements.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether only electrons emit photons or if molecular dynamics also play a significant role. Multiple competing views remain regarding the mechanisms of photon emission and the contributions of molecular behavior.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the limitations of simple models in explaining complex phenomena, particularly in condensed matter physics where collective behaviors and interactions among many particles must be considered.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, and the interactions of light with matter, particularly in the context of photon emission and radiation mechanisms.

  • #61
ZapperZ said:
You'll see why my claim of shaking charge up and down is relevant

I absolutely hear you
 
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  • #62
ZapperZ said:
When atoms and molecules are clumped together into a solid, they form a conglomerate in which the characteristics of the solid are predominately due to the collective behavior of all these atoms and molecules. What that means is that the individual behavior of the atoms and molecules are often no longer apparent in the properties of the solids.

Is radio frequency emission from a wire antenna an example of the type of collective behavior you refer to? I ask because I have not been able to find a description of antenna behavior, whether transmitting or receiving, from a quantum viewpoint. Everything about antennas seems to be discussed from a purely classical EM perspective. I don't doubt that this is the right practical approach, but I would like to see some kind of quantum treatment, if only a simple-minded description of the process by which photons are emitted from the wire.
 
  • #63
Ralph Dratman said:
Is radio frequency emission from a wire antenna an example of the type of collective behavior you refer to? I ask because I have not been able to find a description of antenna behavior, whether transmitting or receiving, from a quantum viewpoint. Everything about antennas seems to be discussed from a purely classical EM perspective. I don't doubt that this is the right practical approach, but I would like to see some kind of quantum treatment, if only a simple-minded description of the process by which photons are emitted from the wire.

No, it is not. An antenna is described in classical E&M and a boundary condition problem. However, it shares similarities with the jiggling charge that I mentioned.

Zz.
 
  • #64
Ralph Dratman said:
I would like to see some kind of quantum treatment, if only a simple-minded description of the process by which photons are emitted from the wire.

You're assuming that the EM field in question can be usefully modeled as "photons emitted from the wire". As I understand it, the EM wave state that is emitted is very different from the kinds of EM states that the term "photon" can be usefully applied to. (For one thing, AFAIK the wave state is not an eigenstate of the photon number operator.)
 

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