B Lifespan of a Photon: Debunking the Myth of Time Travel

  • Thread starter Thread starter rolnor
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Movement Photon
Click For Summary
Photons move along null worldlines in spacetime, which means they do not experience time in the same way massive particles do. This characteristic does not imply that photons have an exceptionally long lifespan; rather, their stability stems from the absence of decay pathways that adhere to conservation laws. While some calculations suggest a potential photon decay over extraordinarily long timescales, the standard model of particle physics treats photons as stable particles. The confusion often arises from conflating classical electromagnetic theory with quantum electrodynamics, leading to misconceptions about the nature of photons. Ultimately, understanding the complexities of light requires a solid foundation in both classical and quantum physics.
  • #31
rolnor said:
This is bullying, not nessecary and not science
No, no, it's not meant as bullying at all. Over the years at PF we have come to understand how important it is to tune the level of responses to the level of understanding of the OP asking the question. That is why in many of our technical PF forums we use the prefix system on the thread title, to better help responders know how to respond to the OP's question.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
rolnor said:
This is bullying, not nessecary and not science
OK, so what level do you want an answer? Graduate level texts have been suggested. Is this an adequate answer? If not, what do you want instead?

Lack of mental telepathy is not the same as bullying.
 
  • #33
I am grateful for all answers that help me understand this matter. One comment seemed unecessary. Maybe I missinterpreted the intention.
 
  • #34
vanhees71 said:
It's not ignorance! It's just that relativistic QFT is a quite difficult subject, and it's impossible to understand it without the adequate math. In addition it's also not fully established from a strict mathematical point of view. It needs time to learn all this. For me the most concise introductory treatment is given in

S. Coleman, Lectures of Sidney Coleman on Quantum Field
Theory, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., Hackensack
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1142/9371

Large parts of this book is also freely available from the arXiv:

https://arxiv.org/abs/1110.5013

More details, particularly the emphasis of the importance of the microcausality constraints can be found in the 3-volume textbook series by Weinberg, Quantum Theory of Fields.

Complementary to that is

A. Duncan, The conceptual framework of quantum field
theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford (2012).
Thanx a lot now I have some reading to do.
 

Similar threads

Replies
1
Views
282
Replies
16
Views
3K
  • · Replies 81 ·
3
Replies
81
Views
7K
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
2K
  • · Replies 38 ·
2
Replies
38
Views
6K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Replies
58
Views
4K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
5K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
2K