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- Do photons really exist in glass?
Which speed do they have there?
I'm aware of the numerous threads on the subject "light inside glass" there have been in the past, in case you will indicate me an appropriate one, but I haven't been able to find a clear answer to the questions:
1) Do photons really exist inside a (homogeneous, linear, transparent, refracting index n) material as glass, when, e.g., a monochromatic laser beam of wavelength λ is directed normally on its surface, or are they replaced by more "exotic" objects as "polaritons", etc?
2) If they exists and assuming they are not "absorbed and then emitted again after some delay", which speed do they have? I know classical theory shows that v = c/n, and I've read Feynman's QED ("it's as if photons would go through it with a reduced speed" or something alike) but what does quantum theory predicts of their actual speed?
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lightarrow
1) Do photons really exist inside a (homogeneous, linear, transparent, refracting index n) material as glass, when, e.g., a monochromatic laser beam of wavelength λ is directed normally on its surface, or are they replaced by more "exotic" objects as "polaritons", etc?
2) If they exists and assuming they are not "absorbed and then emitted again after some delay", which speed do they have? I know classical theory shows that v = c/n, and I've read Feynman's QED ("it's as if photons would go through it with a reduced speed" or something alike) but what does quantum theory predicts of their actual speed?
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lightarrow
