Undergrad Wave-particle duality: nature of wave-particle as it travels

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The discussion centers on understanding wave-particle duality, particularly regarding photons and electromagnetic radiation. A photon is described as starting and ending its existence as a particle while traveling as a wave through free space, with its wave nature being an excitation of the electromagnetic field. The propagation of the wave is compared to gravity waves, and the energy distribution is debated, with some interpretations suggesting it is evenly spread out. When a photon encounters an absorber, it is absorbed in discrete amounts due to the quantum nature of matter, not in diluted quantities. The conversation highlights the complexities of visualizing photon behavior and the challenges in reconciling classical imagery with quantum mechanics.
  • #31
Peter99 said:
(and indeed, i is mathematically undefined)
It has a well-defined mathematical description.
bhobba said:
it would mean if I did something here on Earth it could instantaneously affect something at the other side of the universe. This is not what we experience in our day to day life - we don't see things around us is affected by things light years away instantaneously.
It would not change much if we ignore the effects on particle physics and cosmology. You would instantly be affected by the current locations of the stars in Alpha Centauri - so what? We are influenced by their positions approximately 4 years ago, but we do not care because that influence (and, in particular, its change over 4 years) is negligible.
 

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