| Author | Message | ||
     Jared Unregistered guest |
Simon, What would happen if two photons collided in mid-air? | ||
| Simon Quellen Field (sfield) New member Username: sfield Post Number: 138 Registered: 12-2004 |
They pass right through one another. Try shining two flashlights at one another. | ||
| Jared Unregistered guest |
If light is not a material substancce then why does it bounce off of a material wall. I understand that it is the electrons in an object that keeps them from falling through one another, yet photons have no electrons. | ||
| marusushi Unregistered guest |
Material objects absorb photons, then reflect them. | ||
| David Harris Unregistered guest |
Don't confuse photons with electrons. A photon is merely a quantized, or "packaged" electromagnetic wave. It is not a material substance, and it technically does not "bounce" or "reflect" off anything. Keep in mind that a wall has billions of atoms on the surface, all at different positions and such. When a photon comes near, it is simply absorbed INTO the atom it hits. Since a photon has no charged, it can hit an electron or a nucleus or empty space. Some photons make it all the way through a wall, some are completely absorbed. Most of the photons are absorbed into the atoms, and then re-emitted as more electromagnetic radiation, sometimes at different energies. The actual physics is incredibly complex. But suffice it to say that if photons only interact with matter as energy. They do not interact with each other. | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 24.127.97.80 |
What about mirrors? | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 24.127.97.80 |
And how do lasers work if photons don't interact with any particle or bounce? | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 24.127.97.80 |
Do a yahoo or google search on "photons bounce" and see how much data is there. Or you can call NASA and tell them that their Solar Sail won't work because photons don't bounce. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/testfacilities/Sailing_on_Sunbeams.html "...Streams of solar energy particles, or photons, bounce off the sail propelling it through space, just like the wind pushes a sailboat across water..." [NASA WEBSITE] | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 24.127.97.80 |
Give NASA a call - 202.358.0001 Let them know what you found | ||
| Anonymous Unregistered guest Posted From: 64.162.11.51 |
Or get a Nichols radiometer (not a Crookes radiometer though). | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 24.127.97.80 |
Exactly, fellow Anonymous "post"er | ||
| Anonymous Posted From: 64.162.11.51 |
"I for one welcome our anonymous overlords." -Farkism |
