Energy of a photon

[Rachel Martinez 1A]

E=pc
pc= h c/lambda and lambda = h/p

[RJ Mathews 1K]

Is a photon just another term for a light wave? Or is photon a synonym for electrons? If so, I thought De Broglie's equation was meant for particles with mass and not the light waves. With E = p * c we need the particle's mass and velocity to calculate the momentum in the equation and light doesn't have a mass.

[Julie Mai 1K]

Hi!

I believe a photon is just another term for light wave and not a synonym for electrons. The De Broglie equation is used for objects with mass such as electrons, atoms, baseballs, etc. Since light does not have mass, you would use the equation: Ep = hc/λ (energy of a photon = (planck's constant*speed)/wavelength) to find the energy of a photon. This equation is meant for light only. I hope this helps!

[Aanya Pramanik 1C]

A photon is basically a unit of light, and it is not a synonym for electrons.
De Broglie's equation is meant for any particle with momentum, mass, and wavelike properties, so it does not apply to light waves. For light, you would use E = hv to calculate energy.