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aiop
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How do waves interact, What happens when two waves with the same frequency and wave length hit each other. Would the resultant change if it was let's say an X-ray hitting an Gama-ray. That is if waves can even hit each other.
But how can the waves simply over lap as well on water.DrClaude said:The waves simply overlap, with the total electromagnetic field being the sum of all the waves. If the waves have the same frequency, this can lead to regions of constructive and destructive interference, like in the double slit experiment.
Note that the same behavior is observed for other kinds of waves, like sound waves or waves at the surface of water.
For a very high intensity of light, photon-photon scattering is possible, but it has not yet been observed.
Why not?aiop said:But how can the waves simply over lap as well on water.
like a wave of water that also can have particle like properties. not sure how to tie that part into the image though, How could light with particle like properties just go through each other... i don't understand how that could be possible.256bits said:What is your envision of a photon?
But how can two different waves for example move through each other they don't have mass but are made out of energy and energy of two different levels if let's say a Gama-ray and a X-ray hit each other would they not have some reaction. When for example hot air moves through cold air they do react by transferring energy and that is just a matter of a difference in energy. so what makes light so special?mfb said:Why not?
Light is not made out of billard balls.
Photons do not even have a well-defined position.
aiop said:like a wave of water that also can have particle like properties. not sure how to tie that part into the image though, How could light with particle like properties just go through each other... i don't understand how that could be possible.
But when imagining water to be like a light wave i run into a problem. Water waves go up and down because of gravity's pull so why would a light wave go up and down if light does not have mass. I know its alternating electric and magnetic fields but why would they behave as a wave without something to pull the waves making them waves and to cause them to alternate. How do light waves alternate?Drakkith said:Light isn't a particle like a dust grain is a particle. It is not composed of solid pieces. It is simply alternating electric and magnetic fields. The "particle" property of light is that it interacts in discrete chunks of energy. There's literally no physical particles to imagine here, as you might imagine a water wave.
aiop said:Water waves go up and down because of gravity's pull so why would a light wave go up and down if light does not have mass. I know its alternating electric and magnetic fields but why would they behave as a wave without something to pull the waves making them waves and to cause them to alternate. How do light waves alternate?
___________Drakkith said:Light isn't a particle like a dust grain is a particle. It is not composed of solid pieces. It is simply alternating electric and magnetic fields. The "particle" property of light is that it interacts in discrete chunks of energy. There's literally no physical particles to imagine here, as you might imagine a water wave.
You don't seem to have really read the post you are responding to. I'll repeat the significant part, relative to your question "The "particle" property of light is that it interacts in discrete chunks of energy."Passionate Eng said:___________
then, how could photoelectric phenomenon be explained?
Passionate Eng said:___________
then, how could photoelectric phenomenon be explained?
Waves of light do not collide with each other because they are made up of particles called photons. Photons do not have a physical size or mass, so they cannot bump into each other like solid objects.
Waves of light can interact with each other through a phenomenon called interference. When two waves of light overlap, their amplitudes can either add together or cancel each other out, depending on their relative phases. This is how we see patterns of light and darkness in interference experiments.
When two waves of light with different wavelengths meet, they will still not collide with each other. However, they may interfere with each other and create a new pattern of light and darkness based on their different wavelengths.
Yes, waves of light can cancel each other out completely through a process called destructive interference. This occurs when waves have opposite phases and their amplitudes cancel each other out, resulting in no light at all.
No, waves of light cannot merge together to form a larger wave. Each photon carries its own individual energy and cannot combine with other photons to create a larger wave. However, multiple photons can combine to create a brighter light source.