3 ms·
Photons radiate in all directions, but doesn't every photon go in a straight line?
by hhm 18y ago
Photons radiate in all directions, but doesn't every photon go in a straight line?
- benbeltran 18y agoI thought nothing went in a straight line and everything moved in a wave-like motion.
- hhm 18y agoI don't think the wave is related to 3d movement in the case of light... it's not that the photon is going up and down all the time. I think this explaination is right: "In electromagnetic wave, it is the electric and magnetic field vector (or amplitude) that is oscillating." (not the position) from here: http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-186751.html http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-186751.html
- extension 18y agoAs I understand it, photons can meander in any direction at any time but due to the way probabilities cancel each other out, they tend to move in a straight line when not in the vicinity of other particles. However, because EM diffraction is observable at macroscopic scales, the "straight line" thing really is confusing. Growing up, I always wondered how radio waves transmitted through walls and assumed they just went through them when in fact they go around.
- hhm 18y agoOh, that's really interesting... I didn't know that (I know very little about physics, I'm more of the mathematician kind).