How Can Photons of the Same Size and Speed Carry Different Energy Levels?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mee
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Energy Light
AI Thread Summary
Photons can carry different energy levels despite having the same speed and size because their energy is determined by their frequency, not their physical dimensions. The concept of "size" in relation to photons is misleading, as photons are considered point-like particles with no defined size in the traditional sense. Instead, the energy of a photon is directly proportional to its frequency, as described by the equation E=hf, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is frequency. This means that photons of the same speed can have varying energies based on their frequency. Understanding these principles is crucial for grasping the behavior of light in quantum physics.
mee
Messages
213
Reaction score
1
How can a photon carry differing amounts of energy if it is the same size and speed as all other photons? Does this make any sese to anybody?
 
Science news on Phys.org
What does "size" mean in reference to photons?
 
size of photons

mathman said:
What does "size" mean in reference to photons?

I assumed, perhaps in error, that in its particle state a photon would occupy a region of space of relatively regular dimension for all photons. If you think I'm an idiot, I'm only a student of physics not a master you know so asking me instead of someone else seems to perhaps be a bit of a mistake on your part.
:smile:
 
I would like to use a pentaprism with some amount of magnification. The pentaprism will be used to reflect a real image at 90 degrees angle but I also want the reflected image to appear larger. The distance between the prism and the real image is about 70cm. The pentaprism has two reflecting sides (surfaces) with mirrored coating and two refracting sides. I understand that one of the four sides needs to be curved (spherical curvature) to achieve the magnification effect. But which of the...
Back
Top