How does a photon travel in a wave?

In energy wave theory, a photon is generated by the vibration of particles, traveling perpendicular to the direction of vibration. In the particles section, particles were described as waves of energy, creating standing waves from in-waves and out-waves.

Do photons oscillate?

Photons are often described as energy packets. This is a very fitting analogy, as a photon contains energy that cannot be divided. This energy is stored as an oscillating electric field. These fields may oscillate at almost any frequency.

How does a photon move?

Photons are massless, so they always move at the speed of light in vacuum, 299792458 m/s (or about 186,282 mi/s). Like all elementary particles, photons are currently best explained by quantum mechanics and exhibit wave–particle duality, their behavior featuring properties of both waves and particles.

How is a photon a particle and a wave?

When we’re thinking of light as being made of of particles, these particles are called “photons”. Photons have no mass, and each one carries a specific amount of energy. Meanwhile, when we think about light propagating as waves, these are waves of electromagnetic radiation.

Does a photon travel in a straight line?

Photons do not travel in straight lines. To be technical, photons are both waves and particles. If photons were particles, they have deBroglie momentum , so in a Newtonian world, we expect Newton’s first law to apply.

Why do photons travel?

It applies to all waves, from seismic waves, ocean waves, and sound waves, to waves on a piano string. Some people say that the reason a photon travels at light speed the moment it is created is because it is a massless particle, and therefore must always travel at the speed of light.

How is a photon produced?

A photon is produced whenever an electron in a higher-than-normal orbit falls back to its normal orbit. During the fall from high energy to normal energy, the electron emits a photon — a packet of energy — with very specific characteristics.

How are photons produced?

A photon is produced whenever an electron in a higher-than-normal orbit falls back to its normal orbit. During the fall from high energy to normal energy, the electron emits a photon — a packet of energy — with very specific characteristics. A sodium vapor light energizes sodium atoms to generate photons.

What do photons carry?

Photons carry the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces (along with the weak force, the strong force, and gravity). As an electron moves through space, other charged particles feel it thanks to electrical attraction or repulsion.