- #1
joey_m
- 22
- 0
What happens when a single atom emits a single photon?
Does the photon itself exist as a spherical wavefront that propagates in all directions?
Or is it ejected as a tiny, "vibrating ball"?
In other words, is the spherical wavefront of a light source (like a star) just the result of the composite effect of a bunch of linear "rays", or is there something fundamental about spherical EM propagation?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation --
What does it mean that "a single photon is sent through two slits"?
I would also like to know just what kind of "wave" people are referring to when they talk about EM wave-particle duality. The only kind of spatial wave that I can imagine propagates spherically: either through a torsional action (transverse) or a compression-decompression action (longitudinal).
Are there any sources out there where someone has attempted to give an explicit "geometric face" to the propagation of EM energy, at the most fundamental level?
Does the photon itself exist as a spherical wavefront that propagates in all directions?
Or is it ejected as a tiny, "vibrating ball"?
In other words, is the spherical wavefront of a light source (like a star) just the result of the composite effect of a bunch of linear "rays", or is there something fundamental about spherical EM propagation?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation --
There are experiments in which the wave and particle natures of electromagnetic waves appear in the same experiment, such as the diffraction of a single photon. When a single photon is sent through two slits, it passes through both of them interfering with itself, as waves do, yet is detected by a photomultiplier or other sensitive detector only once.
What does it mean that "a single photon is sent through two slits"?
I would also like to know just what kind of "wave" people are referring to when they talk about EM wave-particle duality. The only kind of spatial wave that I can imagine propagates spherically: either through a torsional action (transverse) or a compression-decompression action (longitudinal).
Are there any sources out there where someone has attempted to give an explicit "geometric face" to the propagation of EM energy, at the most fundamental level?