Can someone tell me about photon emission?
If an electron bound to a nucleus emits a photon and drops to a lower energy level, in what direction does the photon go?
- Does it leave the electron perpendicular to the tangent line of the electon's 'orbit' at the instant of emission - that is, at the time of emission, does it leave the electron in a direction away from the nucleus along the radius vector whose origin is the nucleus and passes through the electron?
- Are photons emitted toward a point in space of lower energy?
- Or, is the direction of emission of a photon not known, and only a probability of a direction known?
Thank you,
-John