I agree that a single photon can interact with a point away from the axis of travel. But isn't this because both the electric and magnetic field vectors have an amplitude (strongest perpendicular to the axis of travel) and therefor the photon has a certain minimum "width" in a sense. So if you...
An electron travels as a wave. But what kind of wave?
Sound waves are longitudinal, light waves are transverse, but what kind of wave does the electron travel as?
My interpretation of the HUP is that there is a fundamental uncertainty (with regards to position and momentum) that can be measured experimentally -- if one is measured the other is perturbed by the measurement, thus both cannot be known experimentally. However, this is not to say that a photon...
I've been told time and again that any beam of light (think laser) exhibits divergence no matter how perfect. This prompts three questions:
1) Theoretically, if a laser beam is emitted such that each photon is exactly parallel, (obviously more perfect than can be achieved in reality) does the...
Don't take the drawing too literally, the whole question is meant as a thought experiment. Here I'm assuming that there is some optical arrangement that would blend the two beams. It is probably not possible to create optics to blend the beams perfectly in real life.
This is a question concerning the wave nature of light and the conservation of energy.
Consider a prism that combines two sources of monochromatic, coherent (laser) light into one beam. The sources are adjusted so that the laser beams combine in phase resulting in constructive interference...