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McQueen
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It has become almost axiomatic that whenever there is a discussion about the wave-particle duality of light it is inevitable that the double slit experiment is brought into the discussion as being the final and irrefutable proof of this property of the photon , since the existence of both wave properties and particle properties of the photon are shown to manifest themselves simultaneously in the same experiment. This is still true , as can be seen from the many postings on the subject in this forum to take just one instance , in spite of the fact that for at least the past fifty years or so , quantum mechanics under first Paul Diriac and later Richard Feynman had successfully argued for the existence of a “virtual “ electromagnetic field being present at every point in the Universe. The existence of such a “virtual” universally existing electromagnetic field would , of course , serve to negate every claim for the double slit experiment since from this view point the diffraction that takes place , whether for a single photon or for a stream of photons is self explanatory. It is also interesting to note that the results being claimed for the EPR experiment involving two entangled photons would also be similarly explained . Yet in all the hundreds of posts on wave-particle duality it is truly amazing that not one has ever referred to the existence of a universally present “virtual” electromagnetic field as postulated by Diriac and Feynman and others and which is a cornerstone of present day physics. Evidently the instinct to comparmentalise our learning is still strong.
Returning to the subject of the wave-particle duality of light . It is unpalatable but nevertheless true that the wave-particle duality of light is suggestive of the same kind of thought processes that went into the description of an elephant by the six blind men of Hindustan. One feeling the body of the elephant reported it as resembling a wall , another feeling the legs described an elephant as a tree trunk , yet another feeling the ears described it as being something like a sail and so on. The analogy is apt because just as the six men involved could not see what they were describing , so too physicists cannot see a photon to describe its physical structure. The question is , given these limitations would it be possible to describe what an elephant really looked like ? The answer is that it should be possible given that they knew that they were describing some sort of animate life form. The point is are we making the same mistake by accepting two seemingly impossible and incompatible properties for the photon , that of being simultaneously both a particle and a wave ? In fact if we take the analogy further and deduce that all matter has both wave like and particle properties then the photon is merely the most extreme ( or fundamental ) manifestation of this duality it would even begin to make some sense. Yet before this extreme step is taken , namely the acceptance of a seemingly impossible contradiction , it is necessary to consider if any other solution would exist to explain the seemingly incompatible qualities attributed to the photon. In undertaking this exercise a deserving place to start would be with the fact that the photon is a mass less particle , if it does have mass it is too small to measure. One would think that what would follow naturally from this would be to consider other phenomenon which physically manifest themselves yet have no mass , yet this aspect does not seem to have been considered as an alternative , except in retrospect . ( The classical interpretation of the EM field was electron -> field -> electron whereas the quantum explanation is electron -> photon -> electron ) The phenomenon that we are familiar with that manifest themselves physically yet have no mass are :- electric fields , magnetic fields and a combination of the two namely electromagnetic fields , it is thought that while an electric field can exist independently a magnetic field is always accompanied by an electric field. . Taking this line of reasoning further , we could consider other properties of the photon , namely that it is an electrically neutral particle i.e it has no charge. If we examine the phenomenon that have no mass and are electrically neutral one configuration that comes to mind is that of a solenoidal electromagnetic field . So this is a possible configuration of the photon .
The objection which could immediately be raised to the photon being some sort of electromagnetic configuration , is that electromagnetic fields interact with each other which means that it should be possible to deflect a photon , something which doesn’t happen , to which the obvious answer would be that if the correct frequency of electromagnetism were available photons of the same frequency would interact , this has already been established. In any case similar deductive reasoning could be followed which have not yet been exhausted . The point that is being made here is , has an adequate effort been made to establish the structural nature of the photon ? The culminating point in this post is where exactly does this leave us vis-a-vis the wave-particle duality of light.
Returning to the subject of the wave-particle duality of light . It is unpalatable but nevertheless true that the wave-particle duality of light is suggestive of the same kind of thought processes that went into the description of an elephant by the six blind men of Hindustan. One feeling the body of the elephant reported it as resembling a wall , another feeling the legs described an elephant as a tree trunk , yet another feeling the ears described it as being something like a sail and so on. The analogy is apt because just as the six men involved could not see what they were describing , so too physicists cannot see a photon to describe its physical structure. The question is , given these limitations would it be possible to describe what an elephant really looked like ? The answer is that it should be possible given that they knew that they were describing some sort of animate life form. The point is are we making the same mistake by accepting two seemingly impossible and incompatible properties for the photon , that of being simultaneously both a particle and a wave ? In fact if we take the analogy further and deduce that all matter has both wave like and particle properties then the photon is merely the most extreme ( or fundamental ) manifestation of this duality it would even begin to make some sense. Yet before this extreme step is taken , namely the acceptance of a seemingly impossible contradiction , it is necessary to consider if any other solution would exist to explain the seemingly incompatible qualities attributed to the photon. In undertaking this exercise a deserving place to start would be with the fact that the photon is a mass less particle , if it does have mass it is too small to measure. One would think that what would follow naturally from this would be to consider other phenomenon which physically manifest themselves yet have no mass , yet this aspect does not seem to have been considered as an alternative , except in retrospect . ( The classical interpretation of the EM field was electron -> field -> electron whereas the quantum explanation is electron -> photon -> electron ) The phenomenon that we are familiar with that manifest themselves physically yet have no mass are :- electric fields , magnetic fields and a combination of the two namely electromagnetic fields , it is thought that while an electric field can exist independently a magnetic field is always accompanied by an electric field. . Taking this line of reasoning further , we could consider other properties of the photon , namely that it is an electrically neutral particle i.e it has no charge. If we examine the phenomenon that have no mass and are electrically neutral one configuration that comes to mind is that of a solenoidal electromagnetic field . So this is a possible configuration of the photon .
The objection which could immediately be raised to the photon being some sort of electromagnetic configuration , is that electromagnetic fields interact with each other which means that it should be possible to deflect a photon , something which doesn’t happen , to which the obvious answer would be that if the correct frequency of electromagnetism were available photons of the same frequency would interact , this has already been established. In any case similar deductive reasoning could be followed which have not yet been exhausted . The point that is being made here is , has an adequate effort been made to establish the structural nature of the photon ? The culminating point in this post is where exactly does this leave us vis-a-vis the wave-particle duality of light.