What Are Will 'O The Wisp and Foo Fighters?

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Leah
I learned that Will 'O The Wisp is a weather phenomena that glows and can go inside and outside of structures. Ball Lightning is probably in the same category. "Foo Fighters" have been reported. I learned about "Foo Fighters" from the abcnews.com message forums, Science & Technology. I've seen on T.V. that pilots/Airforce personnel are afraid of coming froward with their accounts for fear of losing their jobs. The few that have come forward with a report, their reports are filed in the UFO category. Does physics explain these formations? Any thoughts? Thanks.
 
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Leah said:
I learned that Will 'O The Wisp is a weather phenomena that glows and can go inside and outside of structures. Ball Lightning is probably in the same category. "Foo Fighters" have been reported. I learned about "Foo Fighters" from the abcnews.com message forums, Science & Technology. I've seen on T.V. that pilots/Airforce personnel are afraid of coming froward with their accounts for fear of losing their jobs. The few that have come forward with a report, their reports are filed in the UFO category. Does physics explain these formations? Any thoughts? Thanks.

John Cramer has an article describing of a new theory, actually a development of an old theory, for ball lightning in this months' (December 2005) issue of Analog Sciece Fiction-Science Fact. I don't think he has it online yet.

Basically the charged water droplets in the atmosphere over a fairly broad area get "population inverted" by extensive lightning and they form a cavity which "lases" to produce a coherent EM field, which has within it some spikes - solitons - long lasting wave forms which are what the ball lightning are in this theory. I would assume the foo fighters and other anomalous radar targets could be produced by the same mechanism. This is really classical physics, not quantum.
 
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Thank you. I guess your point means that light phenomena (many UFO sightings) can be explained through classical physics. I looked up Quantum Theory in the encyclopedia. It says "the theory that radiant energy is emitted (given off) and absorbed in units, or quanta, rather than in a steady stream." So quanta means the affect of radiant energy on matter? Please explain what quanta means and is there scientific proof to support what quanta becomes. Maybe it is just a methematical concept. I thought Quantum meant to try and support new and unexplained matters of energy. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
Leah said:
Thank you. I guess your point means that light phenomena (many UFO sightings) can be explained through classical physics. I looked up Quantum Theory in the encyclopedia. It says "the theory that radiant energy is emitted (given off) and absorbed in units, or quanta, rather than in a steady stream." So quanta means the affect of radiant energy on matter? Please explain what quanta means and is there scientific proof to support what quanta becomes. Maybe it is just a methematical concept. I thought Quantum meant to try and support new and unexplained matters of energy. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Quantum means a chunk. It's a Latin word and we use its Latin plural: one quantum, many quanta.

Planck, back in 1899, discovered that you couldn't get the right formula for the intensity of radiation at differnt frequencies unless you assumed energy was absorbed and emitted in chunks, the physical term for this absorbing/emitting of energy in a given length of time is action and Planck was able to determine the size of the minimum chunk of action. He called it a quantum. It is now called Planck's constant and denoted by h.

Einstein, in one of the OTHER papers that he published in 1905 showed that the photoelectric effect could be explained if you assumed the radiation traveled in chunks; these were Planck's quanta in motion. So it became a complete theory of radiation, and had many successes in predicting spectrum (that's another word with a Latin plural: spectra) details. Further history of quantum physics would just take too much space for a post. It makes many detailed predictionsthat are seen in the laboratory, for example in experiments at atom smashers and so on.

Maybe your library has some good popular introductory books on quanta? I know Isaac Asimov wrote some.
 
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Thank you. I just found and watched 100 Greatest Physics Moments on the Science Channel on "ON DEMAND" on Comast. That show helped me more than any library! Wow, I am amazed at Sir Newton Laws, Einstein Quantum (E=MC2), and Quarks, and Electron/Proton/Neutron, etc., etc., etc. It still appears to me that Quantum means to explain the unexplained through physics equations, I guess. I'm not a mathematician. I just see and ask questions and of course, would like answers. So are the affects of Will 'O The Wisp, Ball Lightning, UFO Light Phenomena answers to the equation E=MC2? I've got to go and will return tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Leah said:
So are the affects of Will 'O The Wisp, Ball Lightning, UFO Light Phenomena answers to the equation E=MC2? I've got to go and will return tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts.


Not really. On the theory I mentioned they would be results of nonlinear electrodynamics, the same physics that produces lasers. This can be seen as a part of Quantum Electrodynamics - that's what explains how the "population inversion" happens and how the coherent radiation is produced. Google on laser or maser to find intros. But the key soliton feature is a product of nonlinear classical dynamics - old fashioned nineteenth century physics brought up to date with twenty-first century mathematics. Conversion of mass into energy doesn't play a part.
 
Thank you. So now I have to research electrodynamics, laser or maser. Mass does not turn into energy? How interesting. But we see light formations form as documented by Will 'O the Wisp, Ball Lightning, UFO Light Phenomena. So there must be an electrodynamic function taking place? Right now, I'm reading Mr. Juan R. Gonzalez-Alvarez's "Evalution of The String Theory" A Canonical Science Project. I think this man is a genius! I think that Canonical Science is a new "birth" of Science as we know it. Someone on the abcnews.com message board where I have been posting said that Mr. Gonzalez-Alvarez is just self-promoting himself. Wow. I don't know what to think, but I will do some research on lasers after I finish reading about The String Theory. Thank you again.
 
Well, at this point, electrodynamic phenomena takes on new meaning in this article. Just being a high-school grad, I think what Mr. Gonzalez-Alvarez is saying is lasers, what's known about electrodynamic function? pertaining to phenomena?, is pretty much up for discussion in Canonical Science. I'm not sure if I'm comprehending it right, but I'm following Mr. Gonzalez-Alvarez's reports from now on. I kinda think that physics as we know it, which I think explains little about Will 'O The Wisp, Ball Lightning, and UFO Light Phenomena, has changed with new equations and everything in Canonical Science. But, if I have to read about current electrodynamic function I will. Just right now, I think I'm on to something. Thank you for any thoughts.
 
May I suggest you be VERY careful about adopting something that isn't part of accepted physics. Based on what you have described as your background, you should alwasy consider the possibility that due to your lack of knoweldge about physics that you could easily be fooled into accepting something unverified. Don't be too quick to make grandiose proclamation.

I would also strongly suggest you reread the PF guidelines on posting that you have agreed to upon joining this forum.

Zz.
 
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Thank you.
 
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Quite Honestly, I cannot find the PF guidelines, I will keep trying. Are all LASER Lights Red? Don't Street Lights, Flood Lights, Illuminate the background? Laser light only shows it light? I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks.
 
  • #13
Thank you. I will keep doing research on light, but all I really wanted to know is if the Physic Community can explain Will 'O The Wisp, Foo Fighters, Ball Lightning, UFO Light Phenomena or does the Physic Community consider these light formations unverifiable? I can do research, but my understanding of how light works will never be able to fully explain the aforementioned light formations. That is why I came to you. Thank you. Any thoughts?
 
  • #14
Leah said:
Thank you. I will keep doing research on light, but all I really wanted to know is if the Physic Community can explain Will 'O The Wisp, Foo Fighters, Ball Lightning, UFO Light Phenomena or does the Physic Community consider these light formations unverifiable? I can do research, but my understanding of how light works will never be able to fully explain the aforementioned light formations. That is why I came to you. Thank you. Any thoughts?

Ball lightning:

1. The nature of ball lightning, S Singer - New York, Plenum Press (1971).

2. Ball lightning and other meteorological phenomena, D.J. Turner, Physics Reports, v.293, p.1, (1998).

3. The properties and the nature of ball lightning, B.M. Smirnov, Physics Reports, v.152, p.177 (1987).

Shall I go on?

Go to a library, and do a literature search on any of the topics above. There are TONS of physics journals. How did you know you covered all of them?

Zz.
 
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Thank you.
 
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I am planning to go to the Library and also surf the web on Ball Lighting. FYI - I just sent an email to the Forum Administrator. Thank you.
 
  • #17
I just looked up Quantum in the Dictionary. It says: A. The smallest amount of a physical quantity that can exist independently, especially a discrete quantity of electromagnetic radiation. B. This amount of energy regarded as a unit. So my question is: Can this tinyest amount of energy collide with atoms ( I guess) and produce light formations? Maybe this explains UFO Light Phenomena?
 
  • #18
Leah said:
I just looked up Quantum in the Dictionary. It says: A. The smallest amount of a physical quantity that can exist independently, especially a discrete quantity of electromagnetic radiation. B. This amount of energy regarded as a unit. So my question is: Can this tinyest amount of energy collide with atoms ( I guess) and produce light formations? Maybe this explains UFO Light Phenomena?

Think about it. If all it takes to understand "Quantum" theory is a quick reading off a dictionary, there would be no reason to have all those books and all those semesters in college taking quantum mechanics course, would it?

Please pay attention to the Speculative posting in the Guidelines. You are doing just that.

Zz.
 
  • #19
You will not be able to learn quantum mechanics by looking up the definition in the dictionary. Quanta (and quantum mechanics) are involved in the production of any light.

If you would like to discuss "UFO Light Phenomena", the best place to do that is in the Skepticism and Debunking forum.
 
  • #20
Thank you. I do not know how to ask you questions that I have without breaking a PF Guideline. FYI - I have sent another email to the Forum Administrator. I am not here to cause trouble, just to understand. I will go look in the Skepticism and Debunking forum to see if I can answer some of my questions. Thank you.
 
  • #21
Does Quantum Theory mean to explain the unexplained? Matter turning into another form of matter or Light? Or is it about time and space and dimension?
 
  • #22
Leah said:
Does Quantum Theory mean to explain the unexplained? Matter turning into another form of matter or Light? Or is it about time and space and dimension?

It depends on what you mean by "explain". Quantum mechanics has a number of principles, like the uncertainty principle and the principle of complementarity, plus some equations like the Schroedinger equations and the Dirac equation. It ACCOUNTS for observed behaviors of matter in terms of these, but at bottom it does not offer much in the way of expanation. Science mostly does not do explanation, because it finds the problems with explaining lead into non-scientific modes of argument. Accounting-for is a more conservative practice.


Quantum mechanics makes assumptions about space and time; basically non-relativistic QM (Schroedinger equation) assumes Newtonian space and time, while relativistic QM (Dirac equation and quantum field theory) assumes 4-dimensional spacetime, like Special Relativity. Quantum mechanics and General Relativity have notoriously not been able to relate to each other in the past and a lot of physicists are now working in various ways to try to overcome that.
 
  • #23
Thank you. You had mentioned before that Quantum is a "chunk". To me that means there must be a lot of "chunks". Is there any name for the "chunk" I am asking about; i.e., light formation (Will 'o Wisp, Foo Fighters, Etc.), Or must I research each light formation to find out how each one works? Very time consuming, and I guess I can do that via the www, but from my limited knowledge, a Theory of such formations, must have a beginning. Could that be a new "chunk" of Quantum Light Theory? Or is Physics not going to address this piece of Quanta? I just need a direction to go into ask questions. Thank you.
 
  • #24
Well I have another observation. The lights I see in my neighborhood. The one's closest illuminate the background as the eye can see. The one's farthest away do not illuminate background. They appear like a laser light, all different colors. Sometimes you can see the window around the light, but I see little dots of light in the window, too. Distance I believe must be a factor to the eye, but is it a factor in QLT? Thank you. Just asking questions, and of course, they may not be relevant. But I would hope I can help! Thanks! May We All See The Light...Leah
 
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Another Observation: Light reflects and deflects? Light must be energy? Light affects atoms, electron, etc.? Just quizzing myself. Quite honestly, I have no answers, just questions!
 
  • #26
Last reply for the evening, if anyone is listening...The Sun. The Ultimate Light. How was the Sun formed? What Affects do the Sun's Light's Rays have on atoms? Gee, just an observer here of Light. Goodnight by the moonlight. Leah
 
  • #27
Had to come back. Hubby says there has to be more than one type of atom. Or Else We Would All Look the Same. He's a keeper! Goodnight! Leah
 
  • #28
Leah, if you could phrase a few carefully formulated question at a time that's relevant to "Quantum Physics," maybe your questions will be answered to great detail in wonderfully simple language by some of the better contributors on this forum. This is not your blog.
 
  • #29
I apologize on my behalf of my personality. Quantum Physics is a "chunk" of a "map of the territory" per Dr. Chinese. I was just making observations about light, which I would like to begin as QLT (Quantum Light Theory). Maybe there is already a QLT. I am just finding this humerous that no one has any theories of light (glow) formations. Sorry. Please continue in this forum with your own threads. This may not be my blog, but I am allowed an avenue to express my opinion and personality, I hope, to rethink your Physic Minds, and !st Amendment Rights! Good night. Please do not take my comments personally. I just want to ask questions. Atoms...one or many?
 
  • #30
Leah said:
I was just making observations about light, which I would like to begin as QLT (Quantum Light Theory). Maybe there is already a QLT.

There is a quantum theory of light, and it is called Quantum Electrodynamics (QED for short).

I am just finding this humerous that no one has any theories of light (glow) formations. Sorry.

*cough cough*

ZapperZ gave you 3 leads. Why aren't you following them?

Please continue in this forum with your own threads. This may not be my blog, but I am allowed an avenue to express my opinion and personality, I hope, to rethink your Physic Minds, and !st Amendment Rights! Good night. Please do not take my comments personally.

Your 1st Amendment protections do not extend to Physics Forums. This is a privately owned and operated website, and we have rules here. If you will not or can not abide by those rules, then your posting rights here will be revoked. The Admin giveth, and the Admin taketh away.

I just want to ask questions. Atoms...one or many?

That is not a question. That is at best a sentence fragment with a question mark stuck on the end of it.
 
  • #31
And One More Question before I am punished...How Old Is The Sun? Does Physics, and ALL it's theory's explain the beginning of the SUN? I have children, I am here to pave the path for my children. Goodnight by the Moonlight...and tides.
 
  • #32
Leah, you have to slow down a bit. Take small steps. Have you thought about enrolling in an introductory physics course at your local college? You would have to do quite a bit of book-reading, but I think you would really enjoy it. I think it's great that you ask lots of questions, but you seem to be trying to relate things that you don't have an understanding of yet (and in some cases, like "Foo-fighters", things that no one has an understanding of - things that may not even be more than figments of the imagination.)

And here's a site you might like. You can find some answers to your questions about the solar system here:
http://hubblesite.org/reference_desk/faq/category.php.cat=solarsystem
 
  • #33
Thank you! I learned from the above website "How Did The Solar System Form?" that the Sun is the collapsed core of an interstellar gas cloud. May I ask a question? Do gas atoms collide to form Light or is Light a gas? Please provide me with another link so I can research. Thank you. Leah / Moderator: Can I post questions like this? Thanks!
 
  • #34
Leah said:
Thank you! I learned from the above website "How Did The Solar System Form?" that the Sun is the collapsed core of an interstellar gas cloud. May I ask a question? Do gas atoms collide to form Light or is Light a gas? Please provide me with another link so I can research. Thank you. Leah / Moderator: Can I post questions like this? Thanks!

When the interstellar gas becomes compressed due to the force of gravity, nuclear fusion spontaneously begins. Fusion is the process of creating helium from hydrogen, and that releases energetic light which heats up the surrounding gas. It also causes the process to continue, until the amount of hydrogen remaining is too little. Light is not a gas.

I might join the loud chorus of previous posters who recommend that you go down to the Barnes & Noble and purchase a book on the subject. There are many good ones. Then read it! It will connect the dots for you as it is designed to take you from square 1, which is where you are at right now.

Good luck! :smile:
 
  • #35
Leah said:
Can I post questions like this? Thanks!

You can, but you should try to get them in the appropriate section. For instance, quantum physics is not really about the formation of the solar system.
Questions at all levels are accepted here ; however, if you know of yourself that you are particularly ignorant of a subject, it might be wise to say so in the post, you'll get probably a better response that way.
 
  • #36
Thank you Everyone! I guess I have little patience with reading books. I have found them opinionative and argumentative and speculative. I do agree that there are "fact" books out there, but I just want answers to my questions right away. Time is a factor for me. The www has opened a door to knowledge for me. This Website, in all it's glory, can keep me occupied for quite some time! It is beautifully done to help educate people. I have been posting in the ABC News.Com Science & Technology Forum, and so far I have learned that Photon is a unit of Light, that Light is an energy, which takes on wave-form. I am beginning to understand that atoms are building blocks, photons are Light, and gases are elements which produce nuclear fusion due to pressure in the core. Also, I have noticed several websites just recently offered in New Threads here. I have plenty to do now with regards to research, i.e. Forgot The Title but it Reads, "While the classical, wavelike behavior of light (interference and diffraction) has been easily observed in the undergraduate laboratories for many years, explicit observation of the quantum nature of light (i.e. photons) is much more difficult". So, my next endeavor will hopefully yield a better understanding of photons. Thank you again. Oh, Beautiful Light! Leah Reinstein
 
  • #37
Leah said:
Thank you Everyone! I guess I have little patience with reading books. I have found them opinionative and argumentative and speculative.

It is the ethernal problem in education: how to get the student to learn stuff efficiently without giving the opinion that she/he has to swallow about everything the Great Master is telling him. I think that there is only one solution: that is, the student should start by having confidence in the Great Master, and take, in the beginning, his word for it ! It's like when daddy told you NOT to jump from the 8th floor. Just take his word for it that it is a bad idea :smile:. After you've grown up, you'll understand daddy's motives for stopping you, as a toddler, from jumping. It's the same with much of science (and other) education: you cannot question all presented knowledge right from the start. You need to accept first things, until you start to see the picture.

If you have difficulties accepting "revealed truths" then just don't consider them to be "truths" but just "theories". Tell yourself you're going to learn the theory of classical mechanics (whether that has anything to do with the real world or not). Now, you can maybe question whether classical mechanics is "true" or not, but you can certainly not question the authority of a generally recognized reference on classical mechanics on the subject to explain you what classical mechanics is all about. So if that book tells you how things are done *in the theory of classical mechanics*, then that's simply the way it is, in that theory. If they tell you that velocity is the time derivative of position, you cannot protest to that, because that's simply how things are done in classical mechanics.

You might find classical mechanics boring, and you'd like to jump directly to the more fancy things. Too bad, you can't. Before reaching the summit of a mountain, you need to climb it step by step. Physics has a layered structure, and you need to work your way of understanding through each layer. How deep you delve into each issue is a bit your affair, but don't expect to look swiftly at each underlying layer and hope to have a deeper understanding of the next. You can't build a solid castle on sand, and you cannot start riding a bicycle if you don't even know how to walk.

There are many lists of good books around (there's also a lot of junk books, and even more junk websites). Make good use of them.

cheers,
Patrick.
 
  • #38
Thanks Patrick! "I am but just a kid in a sandbox. I want the biggest piece of Sand I can find. I'll look at that piece first." Leah
 
  • #39
Leah said:
Thanks Patrick! "I am but just a kid in a sandbox. I want the biggest piece of Sand I can find. I'll look at that piece first." Leah

That's fine if you want to stay in the sandbox. If you want to play with the big kids, you have to adapt to their ways. We can't just keep giving you single answers to "why is the sky blue" type questions. That uses up our time without providing any lasting benefit to you.
 
  • #40
You're right. I said I now have enough information from your website to keep me occupied for awhile. Thank You! I have lots of reading to do, so I really don't plan on needing to post a question anytime soon. I'm asking my questions on the other message board I have mentioned before, so as not to bother you. "My Sandbox has many Pieces". I only meant it as an explanation of Life itself. I will do my best not to take up your time. You must decide whether My Thread remains or goes. I would hope you decide the former, but I am Only a Messenger, not a Guardian of the Gate. Thank you. Leah Reinstein
 
  • #41
Leah -- With your beguiling manner, and off-beat approach you've managed to have quite a few people here dance to your tune. But charm will only carry you so far. Indeed, if you continue to eschew books, you'll never really learn much of anything. Virtually all of the knowledge of physics, science, philosophy,and much else is in published form -- how else do we know what Einstein thought, or the founders of the quantum theory thought?

Physics is a very difficult subject -- most of us who claim to know a modest amount of the subject have spent years of hard study, endless hours with pencil and paper, and gone though more books than we care to admit. Mastery is very difficult to achieve; the charm of dazzling with your dancing through the bon mots of physics will grow less and less attractive with time.

With all due respect,
Reilly Atkinson
 
  • #42
I can never be as smart as any of you. I now merely walk a path to gain knowledge through questions. Many people have helped me and have answered my questions. Books are wonderful. School is Essential where reading is mandatory. Life is peculiar. With respect to all who have helped me thus far, I am thankful. I understand, Reilly, what you are saying. That my approach to life is a little different than most. "The Dancing is Part of a Light". (I know, no more quotes.) I plan on perusing this wonderful site of knowledge for awhile, so as not to bother you. I highly Respect Your Knowledge and Hard Work in achieving Answers in Physics. Leah
 
  • #43
I Will Not Blog In this Thread. I just wanted to Direct anyone's Thoughts to My Journal. For I am posting There, now re: Will 'O The Wisp. Thank you.
 
  • #44
Will 'O The Wisp what it means can be found here:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-wil1.htm

It says, "We know now that the flames are methane (marsh gas) ignited by the traces of hydrogen phosphide sometimes found near decaying organic matter."

So, at least Will 'O The Wisp can be explained!
 
  • #45
Maybe I'm a little late to post this... but it sounded like you were wondering how light interacts with atoms and how atoms can create light, plus you said you were learning about photons. So I thought I might as well post some physics concepts for you. Though I'll just have to hope I don't sound confusing. Still, it should be much more concise than what a book would give you.

There are a few ways to create photons (small quanta of light), but there's namely one dominant way that I'll comment on...

First you need to know a few basic things about atoms; Atoms have a center that is called the nucleus. A distance away from the nucleus you'll find electrons, which you can think of as orbiting the nucleus (This is technically wrong, but it makes for an easy picture that works.).

Think of one electron orbiting a nucleus. Depending on the energy the electron has it will orbit at a certain distance away from the nucleus. The more energy it has, the farther away it will orbit. However, there are only discrete values for the distance the electron can orbit. In other words, it can't orbit the nucleus at any distance, it can only orbit at a few select distances and jump between them. So.. the electron can be a distance D1, D2, D3, etc... away from the nucleus.

One last thing. The electron can't maintain an orbit far away from the nucleus. It will "fall" back to the closest orbit it can get to in a short amount of time, if it's far away.

Now if you understand that I can tell you how light works... First how light can be created.

If an electron is far away from the nucleus (say D3) and drops down to being closer to the nucleus (say D1) then the electron will lose energy and emit a photon! Simple as that. The photon will be of a certain wavelength (color of light) depending on how much energy the electron lost.

Next how light can interact with an atom: A photon can hit an atom and be "absorbed" giving the electron more energy (and bumping it up to an orbit that is farther away). Basically the reverse of the above process.

So, how can electrons get into far away orbits if they naturally drop to the closest one? Well the two most common ways are for atoms to collide and bump electrons into higher orbits, and for light to hit an atom and bump the electrons up. Those are the two main ways I can think of.

This small java applet outlines everything I said in a simple animation... there are better ones floating around, but I couldn't find them.

http://webphysics.ph.msstate.edu/javamirror/ipmj/java/atomphoton/

Lastly, just for an example of how a lot of things operate like this...

Glow in the Dark material (like a ball): How this works is that light shines on the ball and raises the electrons to higher orbits. The ball is coated (or composed of) a certain chemical that keeps the electrons from dropping to lower orbits too fast. When you stop shining light on the ball the electrons will drop to lower orbits over a long period of time and make the ball glow. Eventually all the electrons will drop and no more light will be able to be emitted.
 
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  • #46
Thank you for explaining how a photon is created. I am starting to learn that some light phenomena can be explained, and some light phenomena cannot be explained, and that is okay. I am interested in Light, so I need to start reading up on it.
 
  • #47
I like to see how excited you are about learning physics. You provide good spirit, but you do jump around to all sorts of topics. To bring things around to the beginning when population inversions were mentioned, now that you have the idea of how an atom emmits and absorbs photons, you can get a grasp of population inversions. It's just a fancy term that means that a sufficiently large portion of atoms in a "popularion" are in an energy state higher than the ground state. This is the way a laser works, the atoms in a laser are induced by adding energy into the system to excite them and send their electrons to higher orbits. Overall, you could say that practically all the atoms are in an excited state. When a photon hits an atom in an excited state, there is a chance that the electron in the atom will drop to a lower energy state, and in the process release a photon in the same direction and frequency as the one that struck the atom to begin with. This process of photon emmission is called "stimulated emmission", the other process where a photon is randomly emitted (and not stimulated by an incomming photon), by the electron falling to a lower energy state is called "spontaneous emmission". For most populations of atoms, where they are mostly in a ground state, incomming phtons are absorbed for the most part, but when most of the atoms are in excited states (as in a population inversion), an incomming photon stimulates the emmission of another photon of equal energy and direction when it strikes an atom. This whole procedure is basically like Light Amplification by a Stimulated Emmission of light, or Radiation (ie. LASER, since light is radiation). When this process continues through the population in a cascade of photons with the same energy and direction you get a light source that has only one frequency and direction. I hope you find this helpful in any way. I hope I'm not too late in explaining what a laser is, since you've already started researching it. Pardon me if I've got any of this wrong, the good folks on the forum will most likely correct any of my mistakes.
 
  • #48
Thank you. I am trying to understand Light, and the photon. I do go off in different directions (kinda like a photon!), and don't really concentrate on one subject...you're right. So, as silly as this question may be, are all photons created equal? For instance, I see Light from a Star...those photons emit light for a long period of time, and then I see Light from Fire...those photons eventually burn out, and then I see Light from a T.V./Computer/Lightbulb. Please excuse my difficulty in understanding that all Light is the same. It is probably best to assume that I will never understand how it works, but maybe, if you have the time, you can explain the different types of light and how the photon works in each case, if there is an explanation. Thanks! Leah
 
  • #49
Leah said:
Thank you. I am trying to understand Light, and the photon. I do go off in different directions (kinda like a photon!), and don't really concentrate on one subject...you're right. So, as silly as this question may be, are all photons created equal? For instance, I see Light from a Star...those photons emit light for a long period of time, and then I see Light from Fire...those photons eventually burn out, and then I see Light from a T.V./Computer/Lightbulb. Please excuse my difficulty in understanding that all Light is the same. It is probably best to assume that I will never understand how it works, but maybe, if you have the time, you can explain the different types of light and how the photon works in each case, if there is an explanation. Thanks! Leah

Leah, all those photons are the same kind of thing. They differ in frequency (and its reciprocal wavelength) but they are otherwise alike. The photons don't "go on forever" or "burn out", rather the processes that produce them continue, like the star or die down, like the fire. And photons don't emit light; they are the light that is emitted.
 
  • #50
hi
may I first say, I'm semi retired now but my training was electronics / design,physics was my best subject really

I've personally seen various types of 'lights' specially in Wiltshire UK, tonight i saw something very close to what people probably call a will o the wisp, a flickering orange light in the grass, around 50 yards away. Its a cold (3 deg C) night, quite damp with misty moisture around, little wind.

Regarding pf rules, can we examine how a flame can occur in moist weather at ground level, orange, flickering light... on chalk grass land... at night..

i've also seen other forms of lights, if you like i can start a different thread on those, see if anyone has any ideas how they might occur.

I must emphasise, i cannot with my own knowledge of e/m etc, understand what the mechanism was for generating these various types of lights, but they are authentic sightings, I don't go in for telling fibs :)

btw these ones I saw are not traditional ball lightning, (given descriptions of same) they are more subtle in their properties.

I do feel they indicate some gaps in our knowledge, maybe someone can help.
 

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