how can a photon be a particle and a wave?

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Dichotomy? eh? Like how can Jebus be god and man.

I don't get it? PICS?

I mean, it's etiher a particle or a wave, right? How can it be both? Sounds like they just don't know so they just throw their hands up and say uh, in experiments we've observed both properties so it's both.

That sounds like religion to me. Just believe us cause we said so.

Cause if it's a wave, then it's like an E and B field at right angles to each other which is 100% energy and no mass. And if it's a particle then it has mass but that's different than a wave cause particles aren't E and B fields and aren't 100% energy, some of it is in the form of mass.

right?
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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We made up the terms "particle" and "wave". Nature just isn't that simple.

In short, I don't know.

Oh, and I'll worry about it when I need to try to explain it to my future physics students :)
 

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Goosemaster
Schodinger > Element....

Scho nuff. But you forgot the rest of the equation, not to mentions how to spell his name unless it was a typo, but I digest.

Schrodinger > element > Goosebastard

PS: I know it's digress, but I just ate. You gotta wait a half an hour before digressing.
 

rahvin

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,475
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Originally posted by: element
Dichotomy? eh? Like how can Jebus be god and man.

I don't get it? PICS?

I mean, it's etiher a particle or a wave, right? How can it be both? Sounds like they just don't know so they just throw their hands up and say uh, in experiments we've observed both properties so it's both.

That sounds like religion to me. Just believe us cause we said so.

Cause if it's a wave, then it's like an E and B field at right angles to each other which is 100% energy and no mass. And if it's a particle then it has mass but that's different than a wave cause particles aren't E and B fields and aren't 100% energy, some of it is in the form of mass.

right?

Just wait till you get to the part where you find out all particles have wavelengths and if no one was watching you could walk through a double slit.
 

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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0
Originally posted by: rahvin
Originally posted by: element
Dichotomy? eh? Like how can Jebus be god and man.

I don't get it? PICS?

I mean, it's etiher a particle or a wave, right? How can it be both? Sounds like they just don't know so they just throw their hands up and say uh, in experiments we've observed both properties so it's both.

That sounds like religion to me. Just believe us cause we said so.

Cause if it's a wave, then it's like an E and B field at right angles to each other which is 100% energy and no mass. And if it's a particle then it has mass but that's different than a wave cause particles aren't E and B fields and aren't 100% energy, some of it is in the form of mass.

right?

Just wait till you get to the part where you find out all particles have wavelengths and if no one was watching you could walk through a double slit.

hehe if no one was watching or if I were the size of a photon?
edit: speaking if which I got to the part where they say the photon goes through BOTH slits, what's THAT all about? ;)
 

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
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81
Originally posted by: element
Originally posted by: Goosemaster
Schodinger > Element....

Scho nuff. But you forgot the rest of the equation, not to mentions how to spell his name unless it was a typo, but I digest.

Schrodinger > element > Goosebastard

PS: I know it's digress, but I just ate. You gotta wait a half an hour before digressing.

Schrödinger

Schrödinger > Kev > element > Goosemaster
 

phisrow

Golden Member
Sep 6, 2004
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The trouble is that terms like "particle" and "wave" only really make sense in macroscale physics. Some experiments produce results where drawing an analogy to waves makes the math come out, others do the same for particles. It isn't really either, strictly speaking.
 

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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and how about if I fire 1 photon at a time, say 1 photon per second at a double slit, on the other side, they will form an interference pattern which can be observed after like the eleventy billionth photon. But what did those photons, each passing through only once per second, interfere with?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? !!!!!!!!1111oneoneoneoneeleventybillion
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: element
and how about if I fire 1 photon at a time, say 1 photon per second at a double slit, on the other side, they will form an interference pattern which can be observed after like the eleventy billionth photon. But what did those photons, each passing through only once per second, interfere with?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? !!!!!!!!1111oneoneoneoneeleventybillion
You will learn young grasshopper.
 

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Marauder911
Originally posted by: element
and how about if I fire 1 photon at a time, say 1 photon per second at a double slit, on the other side, they will form an interference pattern which can be observed after like the eleventy billionth photon. But what did those photons, each passing through only once per second, interfere with?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? !!!!!!!!1111oneoneoneoneeleventybillion
You will learn young grasshopper.

Are you trying to tell us you haven't a clue?
 

MrDudeMan

Lifer
Jan 15, 2001
15,069
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first of all, Jesus was God in the flesh, and he referred to himself as the son of man, not the son of God, more times in the bible than anything else.

secondly, i made a thread in HT about this a few weeks ago. go search for it...there were some good responses.
 

MrDudeMan

Lifer
Jan 15, 2001
15,069
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photons have no rest mass, which would lead you to believe they have no momentum since it is reliant on their intrinsic mass as well. however, they do have momentum, but they still have no mass, and even though that is debated, you can find the answer on google easily.
 

element

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Bigsm00th
first of all, Jesus was God in the flesh, and he referred to himself as the son of man, not the son of God, more times in the bible than anything else.

secondly, i made a thread in HT about this a few weeks ago. go search for it...there were some good responses.

Your thread, which I just read and was an interesting read, was about photon mass, and why a photon has momentum without mass. The short answer as I'm sure you gleaned from the responses in that thread are that mass is not a requirement for momentum. But energy is, which of course the photon has. And as you know from special relativity energy and mass are related. (to put it in laymam's terms and short without much detail, but that's the gist of it)

This thread asks other questions of the elusive photon, such as what it is interfereing with when it is zipping along by it's lonesome through a double slit.