Vibration of Photons: Do Photons Oscillate?

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    Photons Vibration
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around whether photons oscillate or vibrate, exploring the nature of photons as electromagnetic waves and their properties. Participants examine the implications of photons' behavior in relation to energy transfer and quantum mechanics.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that photons are electromagnetic waves with properties such as electric and magnetic fields, frequency, and wavelength, indicating they do not vibrate in the traditional sense.
  • Others question the wave-like nature of photons by suggesting that if photons can knock electrons from their orbits, they might exhibit particle-like behavior akin to BBs.
  • One participant emphasizes that the transfer of energy and momentum by photons occurs as discrete events, which is a characteristic of quantum mechanics rather than a unique feature of photons.
  • Another participant mentions that the wavefunction for a photon corresponds to the electromagnetic field, specifically referencing the vector and scalar potentials.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether photons oscillate or vibrate, with multiple competing views presented regarding the nature of photons as either waves or particles.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the definitions of oscillation and vibration, as well as the implications of quantum mechanics on the behavior of photons, which remain unresolved.

GarryS
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Do photons vibrate or oscillate in any way?
 
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Photons are not little BBs, they are electromagnetic waves. They have all the properties we associate with electromagnetic waves: E field, B field, frequency and wavelength. It's just that they represent a minimal excitation of the electromagnetic field: you can't have half a photon.
 
Bill_K said:
Photons are not little BBs, they are electromagnetic waves. They have all the properties we associate with electromagnetic waves: E field, B field, frequency and wavelength. It's just that they represent a minimal excitation of the electromagnetic field: you can't have half a photon.

If photons can knock out electrons from their orbits why can't they behave as BBs. Isn't any kind of matter wave associated with them?
 
GarryS, Photons carry energy and momentum, as all electromagnetic waves do, and some or all of it can be transferred to other particles. The fact that this transfer happens as a discrete event rather than continuously is a general feature of quantum mechanics, not a special property of photons.

The wavefunction used to describe a photon is just the electromagnetic field itself, specifically the vector and scalar potentials A and φ.
 

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