- #1
Reallyfat
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I know this may sound strange, given that we cannot really work out where in space a photon is because it cannot be completely stopped. But here's a thought.
Let us assume that a photon has been emitted in vacuum going in a straight line. At any given moment in time, this photon will have traveled a distance of
from the source, where c is the speed of light and t the time since its emission. So technically, our Δx is in fact equal to zero.
Theoretically speaking, it does not matter now what Δp is, because 0 * n will always equal zero, and not a value greater than
But we might even bring Δp down to 0.
Assume that the photon has been emitted from a monochromatic laser. Such a photon will have a known frequency and wavelength. Given that for a photon,
gives us its momentum, we can know its momentum with an uncertainty of Δp=0.
Does the uncertainty principle apply at all to such a photon?
Let us assume that a photon has been emitted in vacuum going in a straight line. At any given moment in time, this photon will have traveled a distance of
Code:
c * t
Theoretically speaking, it does not matter now what Δp is, because 0 * n will always equal zero, and not a value greater than
Code:
hbar / 2
Assume that the photon has been emitted from a monochromatic laser. Such a photon will have a known frequency and wavelength. Given that for a photon,
Code:
h / λ
Does the uncertainty principle apply at all to such a photon?