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devanshshah
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Hey i wanted to know if this answer is already present.If yes then what is the shortest amount of distance a beam of light can travel?
.Scott said:In this case, I take "light" to mean a photon in the visible part of the spectrum.
The problem is with how things develop at the quantum level. You would need to create a situation where you could measure a quanta of energy (the photon) moving from one particle to another. And to know that only a photon could have been responsible.
Many atoms are 1 to 3 angstroms in width. With nanotechnology, I'm sure something could be set up to demonstrate a jump of no more than 4 angstroms from one atom to another.
How many photons per second do I need to cross from one atom to another before I can call it a beam? Once I have established that the mechanism for energy transfer is with photons, all I have to do is measure how much energy is transferred as this process is rapidly repeated.sophiecentaur said:Otoh, if you are talking about the effect of one atom on another, due to a photon, then that can involve distances much less than a wavelength. (But that's not really a beam)
Given the enormous size of some molecules, yes.rcgldr said:Would it be possible for a photon to be released from an electron in a molecule only to be captured by another electron in the same molecule?
devanshshah said:what is the shortest amount of distance a beam of light can travel?
.Scott said:How many photons per second do I need to cross from one atom to another before I can call it a beam? Once I have established that the mechanism for energy transfer is with photons, all I have to do is measure how much energy is transferred as this process is rapidly repeated.
At what level of energy transfer (Watts) would you be willing to call it a "beam".
Or is there some additional characteristic of a beam that you haven't mentioned?
The shortest distance a light wave can travel is approximately 0.00000000000000000000001 meters, which is the Planck length. This is the smallest measurable distance according to current scientific theories.
No, a light wave will eventually lose energy due to interactions with particles and other forces in the universe. However, in a perfect vacuum, a light wave can travel a very long distance without significant energy loss.
Light waves travel at a constant speed of approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. This is known as the speed of light and is one of the fundamental constants in physics.
No, the size of an atom is much larger than the shortest distance a light wave can travel. The size of an atom is typically measured in nanometers (10^-9 meters), while the shortest distance a light wave can travel is measured in Planck lengths (10^-35 meters).
In a perfect vacuum, a light wave can travel in a straight line for a very long distance. However, in the presence of gravitational fields or other forces, the path of a light wave may be curved or altered.