Photon Speed in a Wave: How Does It Work?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The_Original5
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Photons Speed
The_Original5
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
I was in math class today as we were learning about sine waves and frequency, and i kinda related it to light. Then I started thinking about the speed of the photon in the wave, and if the photon moves in the wave at the speed of light at different frequency's then would one particle reach a certain point on the x-axis (lets say 5) first? Another way to put it, since the particle follows a path on a sine wave, if the frequency is increased then the particle should need to cover more distance on the wave then a particle in a lower frequency. So what i kind of concluded was that if the light particle moved at the same speed in different frequency's, then the particle with a lower frequency would reach (5,0) on a graph at a faster time then the particle with a higher frequency. Meaning if you had radio waves as a particle with low frequency and a UV wave as particle with high frequency then the waves would reach a certain point at different point in time. Then i kinda thought that was pretty crazy, light reaching points at different time, its light it should reach it at the same time, but it seems even more crazy if it reached it at the same time because on particle would go faster than the other, and that wouldn't make sense either. So I ask you forum How does a particle of light move in a wave.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Er.. photons do NOT move along a path of the sine wave!

The vertical axis can be either the E-field or the B-field of light. They are orthorgonal to each other and to the direction of motion of light. So what is oscillating like a "sine" wave are these E and B fields.

Zz.
 
So light doesn't move in a waves?
 
The_Original5 said:
So light doesn't move in a waves?

Nope! Light moves in "straight lines" per your optics classes. What is "waving" is a property that it carries, such as the E and B field.

Zz.
 
very interesting thank you, and here i thought i was all cool thinking i found something really cool. haha thank you for responding tho.
 

Thread 'A sufficient condition for integrability of equation ##\nabla g=0##'

In Philippe G. Ciarlet's book 'An introduction to differential geometry', He gives the integrability conditions of the differential equations like this: $$ \partial_{i} F_{lj}=L^p_{ij} F_{lp},\,\,\,F_{ij}(x_0)=F^0_{ij}. $$ The integrability conditions for the existence of a global solution ##F_{lj}## is: $$ R^i_{jkl}\equiv\partial_k L^i_{jl}-\partial_l L^i_{jk}+L^h_{jl} L^i_{hk}-L^h_{jk} L^i_{hl}=0 $$ Then from the equation: $$\nabla_b e_a= \Gamma^c_{ab} e_c$$ Using cartesian basis ## e_I...
View full post »
Thread 'Dirac's integral for the energy-momentum of the gravitational field'

Thread 'Dirac's integral for the energy-momentum of the gravitational field'

See Dirac's brief treatment of the energy-momentum pseudo-tensor in the attached picture. Dirac is presumably integrating eq. (31.2) over the 4D "hypercylinder" defined by ##T_1 \le x^0 \le T_2## and ##\mathbf{|x|} \le R##, where ##R## is sufficiently large to include all the matter-energy fields in the system. Then \begin{align} 0 &= \int_V \left[ ({t_\mu}^\nu + T_\mu^\nu)\sqrt{-g}\, \right]_{,\nu} d^4 x = \int_{\partial V} ({t_\mu}^\nu + T_\mu^\nu)\sqrt{-g} \, dS_\nu \nonumber\\ &= \left(...
View full post »

Thread 'Hawking After 54 Years Confirmed: BH surfaces don't shrink'

Abstract The gravitational-wave signal GW250114 was observed by the two LIGO detectors with a network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 80. The signal was emitted by the coalescence of two black holes with near-equal masses ## m_1=33.6_{-0.8}^{+1.2} M_{⊙} ## and ## m_2=32.2_{-1. 3}^{+0.8} M_{⊙}##, and small spins ##\chi_{1,2}\leq 0.26 ## (90% credibility) and negligible eccentricity ##e⁢\leq 0.03.## Postmerger data excluding the peak region are consistent with the dominant quadrupolar...
View full post »

Similar threads

B Let me ask a thing about the Speed of Light
Replies
6
Views
1K
I Charged particles and electromagnetic waves in transparent media
Replies
22
Views
1K
I Speed of light after exiting a transparent medium
Replies
17
Views
2K
I Can Propeller Speeds and Wave Breaks Challenge the Speed of Light?
Replies
13
Views
1K
I The speed of one photon through a transparent medium
2
Replies
74
Views
4K
I What was the role of frequency in the Michelson-Morley experiment's null result?
Replies
3
Views
1K
B Measuring Speed of Light: Transit Time & Interference
Replies
18
Views
2K
B Photon Frequency: How Special Relativity Affects Light
Replies
23
Views
3K
B Ride Gravitational Waves to Increase Speed?
Replies
6
Views
2K
B Energy loss of a photon
Replies
1
Views
955

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top