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so electrons are just like photons being a wave/particle? The article seems to suggest in strange metals their particle properties are absent and only 'electron

so electrons are just like photons being a wave/particle? The article seems to suggest in strange metals their particle properties are absent and only 'electron field' gradients move, like if electrons exhanged their 'charge'.

toast0 1y ago
Yeah, electrons are waves and experience quantum tunneling which we see in high density electronics and specifically apply in flash memories.
ChrisClark 1y ago
Yeah, everything is just like photons, everything is a wave/particle
rnhmjoj 1y ago
Electrons are not just like photons. It's tempting to say that, but there are some significant differences that can lead you in error if you think in this picture. First of all, if you think of a photon as some small ball, not that's not what it is. Mathematically a photon is defined as a state of the EM field (which has been quantised into a set of harmonic oscillators called "normal modes") in which there is exactly one quantum of excitation of a specific normal mode (with given wavevector and frequency). Depending on which kind of modes you consider, a photon could be a gaussian beam, or even a plane wave, so not something localised like you would say of a particle. Unlike photons, electrons have a position operator, so in principle you can measure and say where one electron is. The same is impossible for photons. Also electrons have a mass, but photon are massless. This means you can have motionless electrons, but this is impossible for photons: they always move at the speed of light. Electrons have a non-relativistic classical limit, while photon do not. W. E. Lamb used to say that people should be required a license for the use of the word "photon", because it can be very misleading.
- whatshisface 1y ago
  Why don't photons have a position operator?
  - mcnamaratw 1y ago
    It’s really not accurate to say that a photon has no position at all. How would a photodiode work? You have to be careful with this stuff. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/492711/whats-the-physical-meaning-of-the-statement-that-photons-dont-have-positions https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/492711/whats-the...
    - westurner 1y ago
      Photons certainly appear to have a real physical location with 1e9 FPS imaging capabilities: "Visualizing video at the speed of light — one trillion frames per second" (2012) https://youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk& https://youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk& But is there an identity function for a photon(s), and is "time-polarization" necessary for defining an identity function for photons?
  - riskable 1y ago
    Think of it like this: From the perspective of the photon, it lives and dies in the same instant. Even if it traveled across the entire universe. Since it lives and dies in the same instant, it can't have a position—because the moment it exists and the moment it doesn't is exactly the same time. It takes time—even for light—to get from point A to point B. However, the measurement of any positions—relative to the photon itself—will always be the same. It's related to that property of quantum physics that allows two particles to exists in two different places at the same time.
    - Izkata 1y ago
      > > > Mathematically a photon is defined as a state of the EM field (which has been quantised into a set of harmonic oscillators called "normal modes") in which there is exactly one quantum of excitation of a specific normal mode (with given wavevector and frequency). Depending on which kind of modes you consider, a photon could be a gaussian beam, or even a plane wave, so not something localised like you would say of a particle. > Think of it like this: From the perspective of the photon, it lives and dies in the same instant. Even if it traveled across the entire universe. Would an appropriate analogy be a "glider" from Conway's Game of Life? "Lives and dies in the same instant" isn't exactly the same, but I'm thinking of how no parts of the glider move while the glider as a whole "moves" across the board.
soulofmischief 1y ago
All matter is wavelike. Even some molecules comprised of multiple particles have been empirically proven to exhibit wavelike behavior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_wave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_wave
analog31 1y ago
Not just like photons. For one thing, they can travel slower than light. But many experiments on photons can also be done on electrons, such as diffraction. You can perform a double-slit experiment with electrons. Also, they're fermions, but photons are bosons.

toast0 1y ago

Yeah, electrons are waves and experience quantum tunneling which we see in high density electronics and specifically apply in flash memories.

ChrisClark 1y ago

Yeah, everything is just like photons, everything is a wave/particle

rnhmjoj 1y ago

Electrons are not just like photons. It's tempting to say that, but there are some significant differences that can lead you in error if you think in this picture. First of all, if you think of a photon as some small ball, not that's not what it is. Mathematically a photon is defined as a state of the EM field (which has been quantised into a set of harmonic oscillators called "normal modes") in which there is exactly one quantum of excitation of a specific normal mode (with given wavevector and frequency). Depending on which kind of modes you consider, a photon could be a gaussian beam, or even a plane wave, so not something localised like you would say of a particle. Unlike photons, electrons have a position operator, so in principle you can measure and say where one electron is. The same is impossible for photons. Also electrons have a mass, but photon are massless. This means you can have motionless electrons, but this is impossible for photons: they always move at the speed of light. Electrons have a non-relativistic classical limit, while photon do not. W. E. Lamb used to say that people should be required a license for the use of the word "photon", because it can be very misleading.

whatshisface 1y ago
Why don't photons have a position operator?
- mcnamaratw 1y ago
  It’s really not accurate to say that a photon has no position at all. How would a photodiode work? You have to be careful with this stuff. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/492711/whats-the-physical-meaning-of-the-statement-that-photons-dont-have-positions https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/492711/whats-the...
  - westurner 1y ago
    Photons certainly appear to have a real physical location with 1e9 FPS imaging capabilities: "Visualizing video at the speed of light — one trillion frames per second" (2012) https://youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk& https://youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk& But is there an identity function for a photon(s), and is "time-polarization" necessary for defining an identity function for photons?
- riskable 1y ago
  Think of it like this: From the perspective of the photon, it lives and dies in the same instant. Even if it traveled across the entire universe. Since it lives and dies in the same instant, it can't have a position—because the moment it exists and the moment it doesn't is exactly the same time. It takes time—even for light—to get from point A to point B. However, the measurement of any positions—relative to the photon itself—will always be the same. It's related to that property of quantum physics that allows two particles to exists in two different places at the same time.
  - Izkata 1y ago
    > > > Mathematically a photon is defined as a state of the EM field (which has been quantised into a set of harmonic oscillators called "normal modes") in which there is exactly one quantum of excitation of a specific normal mode (with given wavevector and frequency). Depending on which kind of modes you consider, a photon could be a gaussian beam, or even a plane wave, so not something localised like you would say of a particle. > Think of it like this: From the perspective of the photon, it lives and dies in the same instant. Even if it traveled across the entire universe. Would an appropriate analogy be a "glider" from Conway's Game of Life? "Lives and dies in the same instant" isn't exactly the same, but I'm thinking of how no parts of the glider move while the glider as a whole "moves" across the board.

soulofmischief 1y ago

All matter is wavelike. Even some molecules comprised of multiple particles have been empirically proven to exhibit wavelike behavior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_wave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_wave

analog31 1y ago

Not just like photons. For one thing, they can travel slower than light. But many experiments on photons can also be done on electrons, such as diffraction. You can perform a double-slit experiment with electrons. Also, they're fermions, but photons are bosons.