edguy99
Modelling a photon presents a number of challenges. In quantum physics, a photon flies through the air like a wave. They diffract around corners like a wave. Photons interact with each other like waves. Sometimes they reinforce each other, sometimes they interfere and seem to disappear. The classical explanation uses Maxwell’s equations to describe the wave nature of light. Light waves […]
edguy99
A wealthy man wants to predict the outcome of a horse race. Not knowing how, he looks for some expert advice. He talks to a biologist who says he could genetically engineer an unbeatable racehorse, but it would take a long time and lots and lots of money. He talks to a statistician who says he could predict the outcome […]
edguy99
The last blog talked about no longer tracking electrons through the coulomb force, but rather, thinking of an electron as being confined to a specific area around the nucleus at a specific energy level. The electrons are so fast and light compared to the nucleus of an atom that we need a better way to model what is going on. The quantum […]
edguy99
The polarization of the photon refers to the “direction” of the axis of the energy field, with the magnetic axis being offset by 90°. Polarization can be a direction like up or down, left or right. Polarization can also mean spin in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The axis of the electric field may be rotating or spinning in time and […]
edguy99
A photon travels through the air as if it had a specific axis of spin called polarization. We know this is true because certain crystals will send photons in different directions depending on their polarization. By detecting which way the photon went, we know something about the polarization of the photon. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology […]