What is a Photon?
It has long been debated as to
whether or not a photon is a particle or a wave. It has features of both and
the debate is not yet settled. In fact, most scientists have resigned
themselves to accepting that it is both. Different circumstances seem to
bring out different characteristics. We still don’t have a good idea of how
a photon exists in reality.
Did you know that photons have mass?
Though you may have been taught that all objects have mass, unless they are
going the speed of light. Once a theory starts making exceptions it is the
beginning of the end; a new theory needs to be developed to supplant the
previous. What if photons have mass and density (m/ λ ) but that their
density was less than that of Space (yes, the aether of Space). If the
photon was less dense than Space then it could achieve the speed of light
and still have mass. The mass of a photon can be determined in the following
manner:
linear momentum of a photon = ħk =(h/2π )(2π/λ) = h/ λ = mv => m= h/(λv)
where h is Planck’s constant and λ is the wavelength. For example, a 750 nm
photon would have a mass of 3E-36 kg. Small yes, but still it has mass.
What if one where to add enough
energy to a photon, could it become matter? Theoretically maybe but I don’t
think we can create the conditions necessary for this (i.e. an immediate
post-big bang environment). Where is this threshold between photon and
matter? The smallest wavelength possible (a very small gamma ray) is around
100 fm (a femtometer is 1E-15 m) which means that it would have a mass of
2.2E-29 kg. We can also calculate the density of a small gamma ray by
d=m/volume=2.21E-29kg/(4/3 x (1.00E-13m)3) = 1.7E10 kg/m3 ,
for an muon by
d=m/volume=1.88E-28kg/(4/3 x (1.17E-14m)3) = 8.8E13 kg/m3 ,
and for a proton by
d=m/volume =1.67E-27kg/(4/3x1.32E-15m)3)= 5.5E17 kg/m3 .
Interestingly, somewhere between
the density of a gamma ray and the density of a muon, is the density of
Space, where those objects less dense than Space can freely and limitlessly
travel Space at the speed of light and those denser can not. There must also
be an “Energy of Transition” that is required for the conversion of a photon
to something like an electron since the electron which has a mass of
9.11E-31 kg is less than the gamma ray presented above.
But there is even more confusing
research coming to light (sorry for the pun). Recently, scientists have been
able to create 150 attosecond pulses* of the wavelength 750 nanometers (nm).
One attosecond (as) is 1E-18 of a second. With the wavelengths of infrared
light being >750nm, visible light being 400-750nm, ultraviolet light being
<400nm, and X-rays being about 1nm for comparison, what is the length
(distance as measured in meters) of an attosecond pulse? Assuming that it is
measured in a vacuum or air (whose refractive index is roughly equal to
one), we can use the formula d=t x c where d is distance, t is time, and c
is the speed of light. The result is that a one attosecond is about 0.3 nm
long.
Such an attosecond pulse was recently
described in Nature (2004 427:817) and was 150as which means that it was
45nm in length. But how can this be? How can a photon be shorter than its
wavelength? Basically, it can not. In Figure 1 below, the EMF of a photon is
shown on spatial axis X. The top diagram shows the propagation of the EMF
and the bottom shows 45 nm of the 750 nm wavelength (1 cycle).
Figure 1. Top diagram shows the propagation of light EMF. Bottom
diagram shows the length of a 150 as pulse (45nm) compared to the 750nm
wavelength of the light.
One might be able to say that we
are seeing just a clump of photons which overlap to produce the smaller 45
nm pulse as shown in Figure 2a. But if we were to create a 750 nm (2500 as)
pulse as shown in Figure 2b, then get a 45 nm (150 as) pulse out of it as
shown in Figure 2c, then we will have proved that we have demonstrated a
fraction of a photon. According to current theory such is not possible and
therefore, new theory will be needed. Something where photons are no longer
discrete entities but rather energy that can be taken full or in part.
Figure 2.
Because of the complicated nature
of achieving attosecond light pulses, this latter experiment has not yet
been done to my knowledge. But the way things are going, we are going to
have to rethink what photons really are.
Dr. Siepmann, Editor
Journal of Theoretics
*Technically, it should probably be called a “transient”
rather than a pulse but more people can understand the concept of a pulse.
Besides the nuance reasons for calling it a transient could be the subject
of an entire paper.
Journal Home
Page