Confused About Light? Get Answers Here!

[sameeralord]

Confused about light!

Hello everyone,

I'm confused about light. I know when a photon with certain matching energy comes, it excites the electrons to a higher orbital, and releases a photon when it comes back.

1. What happens to the orginal photon that lost energy?
2. I then read about absorption and reflection, then they were talking about resonance. I don't understand how what I described above with photons apply to reflection and absorption. Can anyone explain me to me with photon theory what happens in absorption and reflection.

Thanks

 

[Tac-Tics]

When a photon is absorbed by an electron, it disappears. You could think of it as the photon combines with the electron to create an excited electron.

I'm not sure I understand your second question.

 

[sophiecentaur]

When you get reflection, a photon is not just interacting with one atom. The simple H atom is not an appropriate model to deal with EM wave interaction with a solid reflector. You don't get 'spectral lines' either by absorption or re-radiation in condensed matter, you get a broad band effect in which the energy of photons corresponding to a wide range of frequencies gets re-directed at the frequency of the original wave, in a 'specular' reflection. You can treat the process in terms of waves (it behaves classically).

 

[sameeralord]

Thank you both for your replies They were helpful. I can understand the second question through waves. So my question basically is

I know when a photon with certain matching energy comes, it excites the electrons to a higher orbital, and releases a photon when it comes back.

For reflection is this what happens or to understand reflection I have to consider light as a wave. If what I have quoted is not reflection what is it?

Basically to understand reflection and absorption do I have to consider light as a wave?

Thanks

 

[PJC01]

Hello there,

I understand your confusion about light and its behavior. Allow me to provide some clarification and answers to your questions.

1. When a photon loses energy by exciting an electron to a higher orbital, it is essentially absorbed by the electron. The electron then releases a new photon when it falls back to its original energy level. This new photon may have a different wavelength or energy level compared to the original photon.

2. In absorption, the incoming photon is absorbed by the material and its energy is transferred to the electrons, causing them to jump to higher energy levels. In reflection, the incoming photon is not absorbed but instead bounces off the material's surface, either due to its smoothness or the presence of reflective materials. In both cases, the behavior of photons can be explained using the wave-particle duality concept of light, where it exhibits both wave-like and particle-like properties.

I hope this helps to clear up some of your confusion. Remember, light is a complex and fascinating phenomenon, and there is always more to learn and discover about it. Keep exploring and asking questions!