- 3358 - PHOTONS - have a lot of explaining to do? - A photon is an elementary particle in physics. It is the quantum of the electromagnetic field. And, it is the basic "unit" of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is the force carrier for the electromagnetic force.
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--------------------- 3358 - PHOTONS - have a lot of explaining to do?
- The effects photon and the electromagnetic force are easily observable at both the microscopic and macroscopic level. Because the photon has “no rest mass“; this also allows for interactions at long distances.
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- Like all elementary particles, photons are governed by quantum mechanics and will exhibit wave-particle duality. They exhibit properties of both waves and particles. A single photon may be refracted by a lens or exhibit wave interference, but also act as a particle giving a definite result when its location is measured.
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- The modern concept of the photon was developed gradually by Albert Einstein to explain experimental observations that did not fit the classical wave model of light. The photon model accounted for the frequency dependence of light's energy, and explained the ability of matter and radiation to be in thermal equilibrium.
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- It also accounted for anomalous observations, including the properties of blackbody radiation, that other physicists, most notably Max Planck, had sought to explain using semiclassical models, in which light is still described by Maxwell's equations, but the material objects that emit and absorb light are quantized.
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- Although these semiclassical models contributed to the development of quantum mechanics, further experiments proved Einstein's hypothesis that light itself is quantized; those quanta of light are photons.
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- In the modern Standard Model of particle physics, photons are described as a necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime. The intrinsic properties of photons, such as charge, mass and spin, are determined by the properties of this “gauge symmetry“.
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- The photon concept has led to momentous advances in experimental and theoretical physics, such as lasers, Bose–Einstein condensation, quantum field theory, and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. It has been applied to photochemistry, high-resolution microscopy, and measurements of molecular distances.
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- Recently, photons have been studied as elements of quantum computers and for sophisticated applications in optical communication such as quantum cryptography.
The invention of lasers have greatly advanced our understanding of photons. Physicists have even used laser photons to deep-freeze antimatter.
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- In this antimatter experiment, an ultraviolet laser quelled the thermal jitters of antihydrogen atoms, chilling the antiatoms to just above absolute zero. This technique for slowing down antimatter could help scientists build the first antimatter molecules.
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- Taming unruly antimatter with laser light may also allow physicists to measure the properties of antiatoms much more precisely. Comparing antiatoms with normal atoms could test some fundamental symmetries of the universe.
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- Laser photons can cool atoms by dampening the atoms’ motion with a barrage of light particles, i.e. photons. To create antihydrogen atoms researchers mixed antiprotons with positrons, the antiparticles of electrons, at the CERN particle physics lab near Geneva.
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- Over several hours, a laser beam tuned to a specific frequency of UV light slowed the antihydrogen atoms from whizzing around at up to 90 meters per second to about 10 meters per second.
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- Future observations of supercooled antihydrogen could test an idea called “charge-parity-time“, or CPT, symmetry. This physics principle says that normal atoms should absorb and emit photons with the exact same energies as their antimatter look-alikes.
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- Even the tiniest differences between hydrogen and antihydrogen could undermine modern theories of physics.
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- Einstein’s theory of gravity predicts that matter and antimatter should fall to Earth at the same rate. Lab experiments dropping laser-cooled antiatoms, instead of warm, jittery ones into free fall could provide a clearer view of gravity’s effects.
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November 26, 2021 PHOTONS - have a lot of explaining to do? 3358
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