Photons only travel in a vacuum . They alternate between photons and something else when traveling through a physical medium.
How does a photon travel?
Since photons are massless, they travel at c, which is called the speed of light because the photon was the first known example of a massless particle. So the short answer to the question is that a photon knows to travel at the speed of light because it is massless .
Can light travel in absence of any medium?
That means light from the star( eg. Sun) can travel infinitely in the absence of obstructionss in its path.
Do particles need a medium to travel through?
Unlike sound waves , which require particles to pass on the energy & let the wave propagate. We can obviously say that strength of EM wave depends on the material medium ,but for propagation , it doesn’t require any material medium .
What waves need a medium travel?
Mechanical waves require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location to another. A sound wave is an example of a mechanical wave. Sound waves are incapable of traveling through a vacuum.
How do electromagnetic waves travel without a medium?
Electromagnetic waves differ from mechanical waves in that they do not require a medium to propagate. This means that electromagnetic waves can travel not only through air and solid materials, but also through the vacuum of space .
Does a photon travel in a straight line?
Photons do not travel in straight lines . Quantum particles do not have trajectories as classical particles do. Photons do not propagate in all directions as a spherical wave does. Photons are not waves.
How does a photon look like?
A photon just looks like a blink of light from a small point . So, when you see a photon (if your eyes are sensitive enough), you see a blip of light. The “size” of a photon is much weirder since photons aren’t “particles” in the traditional macroscopic sense of the word.
Does a photon take up space?
The answer is mostly a yes . While as David says, photons are bosons and therefore do not really have a meaning of “personal space”, the accumulation of the photon’s energy causes another very interesting thing to happen – the spontaneous creation of new particles.
Do sound waves need a medium?
Sound waves are longitudinal waves. They need a medium to travel through . They cause particles of the medium to vibrate parallel to the direction of wave travel. The vibrations can travel through solids, liquids or gases.
Can light travel through empty space?
Light can travel in a vacuum.
A vacuum is empty space. There are no molecules of air or anything else in a vacuum. Like all forms of electromagnetic waves, light can travel through empty space, as well as through matter .
Is vacuum a medium?
First of all vacuum is not a medium . It is actually the absence of any medium . But if we are assuming it like a medium than yes of course vacuum is a transparent medium . As vacuum consists of nothing so light can easily pass through it without being absorbed or reflected .
What travel does not need a medium?
We know that light doesn’t need a medium through which to travel because the speed of light is experimentally constant: independent of the movement of the source or detector or the direction in which it travels. Light contrasts with sound, which travels through the air (or some other material medium).
Can travel through a medium or through empty space?
Waves carry energy through empty space or through a medium without transporting matter . While all waves can transmit energy through a medium, certain waves can also transmit energy through empty space. A medium is a material through which waves can travel. It can be a solid, liquid, or gas.
Do mechanical waves require a medium?
Waves that do require a medium are called mechanical waves.
Do you not need a medium?
Electromagnetic waves travel without a medium. Answers are revealed in the activity. Water and sound waves are mechanical and require a medium in order to travel. Light and radio waves are not mechanical but rather electromagnetic and do not need a medium.
Why do electromagnetic waves not need a medium?
The electromagnetic waves are not mechanical waves. There are vibrations of electric vector and magnetic vector in them. These vibrations do not need any particles present in the medium for their propagation . That’s why electromagnetic waves do not require any medium for propagation.
Which wave does not need a medium to propagate?
Light waves , being electromagnetic waves, do not require any kind of medium to propagate.
Do seismic waves require a medium?
Common types of mechanical waves include sound or acoustic waves, ocean waves, and earthquake or seismic waves. In order for compressional waves to propagate, there must be a medium , i.e. matter must exist in the intervening space.
How do electromagnetic waves travel through a medium?
The mechanism of energy transport through a medium involves the absorption and reemission of the wave energy by the atoms of the material . When an electromagnetic wave impinges upon the atoms of a material, the energy of that wave is absorbed.
What is a medium in waves?
In a similar manner, a wave medium is the substance that carries a wave (or disturbance) from one location to another . The wave medium is not the wave and it doesn’t make the wave; it merely carries or transports the wave from its source to other locations.
Does a photon spread out?
If you look at light as a collection of little particles, you could say that dimmer light has its photons more spread out. But, they are not spread out in space while traveling. Rather, they are spread out in time and space as they are received .
Do photons travel as waves?
Unlike a particle which has wave centers that create standing, longitudinal waves measured as mass, the photon is a packet of traveling waves . Therefore, it has energy but not mass.
How does a photon move through space?
As a photon moves through space, it exhibits oscillating electric and magnetic fields, and can interact with charged particles . These interactions slow it down, and cause it to move at a speed less than the speed of light as long as they’re in a material.
Can the human eye see a single photon?
Yes. In fact, photons are the only things that humans can directly see . A photon is a bit of light. Human eyes are specifically designed to detect light.
Why do photons have no mass?
Why do photons have no mass? In short, the special theory of relativity predicts that photons do not have mass simply because they travel at the speed of light . This is also backed up by the theory of quantum electrodynamics, which predicts that photons cannot have mass as a result of U(1) -gauge symmetry.
Do photons live forever?
Now, by studying ancient light radiated shortly after the big bang, a physicist has calculated the minimum lifetime of photons, showing that they must live for at least one billion billion years, if not forever .
