Is light in waves or photons?


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Veronica Soliman 4H
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:28 am

Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Veronica Soliman 4H » Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:54 pm

I'm v confused because one module spent 26 mins talking about how light was in waves and that mu*lambda= velocity (c speed of light) and another said that light wasn't in waves. So I'm v confused. Can someone explain this please?

Patrick Cai 1L
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Patrick Cai 1L » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:01 pm

Photons are the elementary particle that is responsible for carrying the electromagnetic force and manifests in electromagnetic radiation. Photons exhibit wave-particle duality, so light is carried by photons which have wave-like and particle-like tendencies.

Tam To 1B
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Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Tam To 1B » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:34 pm

Light has both wave and photon properties.
Wave properties of light explain the inverse relationship between wavelength and frequency of light. It also explains how amplitude represents the intensity of the wave. In this case, bigger amplitude (more intensity light) means greater energy.
Meanwhile, photon properties of light explain how light has particle properties and why the photoelectric effect happens. In this case, a higher frequency means greater energy. The photoelectric experiment showed that light does not only have wave properties, but also photon properties since more intense light didn't eject electrons, but high frequency light did.

Letizia Ye 4F
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Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:28 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Letizia Ye 4F » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:07 pm

Light is subject to the wave-particle duality! It exhibits both properties of light, which means you can use applicable wave equations to determine frequency and wavelength etc., while also using equations that show that it's a particle, like the work function equation.

Henri_de_Guzman_3L
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Henri_de_Guzman_3L » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:28 pm

For calculation purposes, use light as a wave (do not use De Broglie formula). Use E=hv when doing light calculations. However it DOES has light-wave duality. Hope that helps!

Henri_de_Guzman_3L
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Henri_de_Guzman_3L » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:29 pm

Think about it, we don't know the mass of a photon right? Also, use landa x v =c

Anita Wong 1H
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Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Anita Wong 1H » Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:21 pm

Light has both wave and photon/particle properties!

KHuang1L
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:19 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby KHuang1L » Sat Oct 27, 2018 10:47 am

Light has both particle and wave-like properties. Light has particle-like properties in the photoelectric effect and wave-like properties like diffraction through the double slit experiment.

305115396
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:16 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby 305115396 » Sun Oct 28, 2018 10:52 pm

Depending on the situation, light can be seen to be in either waves or photons, and there are different equations that you can use to observe these properties.

Arshia Ramesh 1G
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Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:18 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Arshia Ramesh 1G » Sun Oct 28, 2018 11:15 pm

Light has the both the properties of waves and of particles.

Abhi4F
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:28 am

Re: Is light in waves or photons?

Postby Abhi4F » Sun Oct 28, 2018 11:32 pm

Light has properties of waves as displayed in diffraction patterns that are shown when light passes through a crystal and particles as seen in the photoelectric effect.


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