How do you recognize a photon in a detector?

[ddr]

what makes the people at CERN (or similar) certain that what they just saw was a photon?how do i recognise a photon?

 

[neutroncount]

Originally posted by ddr
what makes the people at CERN (or similar) certain that what they just saw was a photon?how do i recognise a photon?

Um, photodetector tubes? They detect light, just like cameras, night-vision goggles, our eyes. But the special tubes they use at accelerators can detect very weak energy photons that most equipment couldn't detect. They do this by using materials to form waveguides and do it complete darkness. Photons hit a substance that causes the photoelectric effect to occur. This voltage is then amplified many times as to be useful for analysis by computers and equipment that monitor the detection.

 

[grady]

http://usa.hamamatsu.com/hcpdf/catsandguides/PMTCAT_construction.pdf