- #1
peter.ell
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I was just wondering how the concept of a single photon is compared to the concept of a light wave.
Is a single photon equivalent to a single light wave, or is a single photon just a tiny instantaneous part of a light wave? That is, if a single light wave of a given wavelength strikes a surface, would that surface respond as if only one photon hit it, or a stream of photons all hitting it with the same frequency as the light wave?
Or am I completely mis-understanding this and it's neither of these two? Please help me understand this conceptually.
Thank you so much!
Is a single photon equivalent to a single light wave, or is a single photon just a tiny instantaneous part of a light wave? That is, if a single light wave of a given wavelength strikes a surface, would that surface respond as if only one photon hit it, or a stream of photons all hitting it with the same frequency as the light wave?
Or am I completely mis-understanding this and it's neither of these two? Please help me understand this conceptually.
Thank you so much!