What of the Wavefunction?

[derek w]

Photons and EMF are very different things.

 

Further the word range does not associate well with the concept of EMF.

 

 

 

Yes sorry,EMF is short range,while electro-magnetic radiation is long range(which consists of photon).

 

Am I right in saying that,oscillations of the movement of electrons in the conduction band,produces a electro-magnetic field around the antenna,and the EMF gives of electro-magnetic radiation in the form of photons at the required frequency?

[Ronald Hyde]

Yes sorry,EMF is short range,while electro-magnetic radiation is long range(which consists of photon).

 

Am I right in saying that,oscillations of the movement of electrons in the conduction band,produces a electro-magnetic field around the antenna,and the EMF gives of electro-magnetic radiation in the form of photons at the required frequency?

 

All the classical quantities in your description have a quantum mechanical counterpart. The frequency of the individual photons, and therefore the energy of each one, is that of the wave. The phase of each photon is represented by it's position, in time and place, in the wave. Because they travel at C the phase doesn't change. The number of photons transmitted per second is the power of the wave divided by the energy of each photon. The EMF is the potential that is associated with the antenna input, and for the wave you divide that by the distance from the antenna to get the signal strength, which is also EMF. The impedance of the vacuum is 377 ohms, which is just 4piC in rationalized units. The impedance of a dipole antenna is about 75 ohms.

Edited August 15, 2012 by Ronald Hyde

[derek w]

All the classical quantities in your description have a quantum mechanical counterpart. The frequency of the individual photons, and therefore the energy of each one, is that of the wave. The phase of each photon is represented by it's position, in time and place, in the wave. Because they travel at C the phase doesn't change. The number of photons transmitted per second is the power of the wave divided by the energy of each photon. The EMF is the potential that is associated with the antenna input, and for the wave you divide that by the distance from the antenna to get the signal strength, which is also EMF. The impedance of the vacuum is 377 ohms, which is just 4piC in rationalized units. The impedance of a dipole antenna is about 75 ohms.

 

 

 

 

If the transmitter produces waves of energy at required frequency,which then become weaker as they propagate outwards across space,but provided the antenna is close enough the electro-magnetic waves can still induce an oscillation of electrons in the conduction band of the antenna,which can be amplified and filtered by the radio equipment.

 

But why do I need to believe in particles of light?

 

If I go onto the photo-electric effect,then yes you need packets or quanta of energy to move electrons in energy shells within the atom.But how do we know whether its an energy spike where waves interfere and create nodes or whether its particles of light(photons)?

[juanrga]

But why do I need to believe in particles of light?

 

If I go onto the photo-electric effect,then yes you need packets or quanta of energy to move electrons in energy shells within the atom.But how do we know whether its an energy spike where waves interfere and create nodes or whether its particles of light(photons)?

 

Science is not based in beliefs, but in logic and facts. Photons were discovered time ago (Einstein won a Nobel Prize) and their properties (mass, momentum, spin, energy, charge) measured. Currently we can perform experiments with a single photon and its behaviour is in agreement with that predicted by the quantum theory of photons.

[Widdekind]

Photons are "proven", by the fact, that faint beams, of high-energy photons, few-and-far between, can still ionize materials (photo-electric effect); whereas below the ionization energy, even intense beams, of low-energy photons, pouring in in dense streams, still fail to ionize materials. Electromagnetic energies do not add, willy-nilly, as in Classical conception. Instead, energy is confined into packets, of quantum-scale energy E=hf. And even infinitely many low-frequency photons cannot ionize materials (having higher ionization energies). You cannot have constructive interference, of zillions of radio frequency photons, produce a "spike", which can ionize a hydrogen atom. Only UV photons of ~14eV or more can do so; and, even if they are the only UV photons for parsecs around.

 

Now, meanwhile, if you calculate the energy of radio frequency photons; then even low power, 10W ham radios, are streaming out zillions of photons. So the Classical calculations are close-to-correct. Quantum effects are only noticeable, for faint transmissions, consisting of countably small numbers, of individual photons.

[swansont]

Photons are "proven", by the fact, that faint beams, of high-energy photons, few-and-far between, can still ionize materials (photo-electric effect); whereas below the ionization energy, even intense beams, of low-energy photons, pouring in in dense streams, still fail to ionize materials. Electromagnetic energies do not add, willy-nilly, as in Classical conception. Instead, energy is confined into packets, of quantum-scale energy E=hf. And even infinitely many low-frequency photons cannot ionize materials (having higher ionization energies). You cannot have constructive interference, of zillions of radio frequency photons, produce a "spike", which can ionize a hydrogen atom. Only UV photons of ~14eV or more can do so; and, even if they are the only UV photons for parsecs around.

No, this is not the case. You can field ionize an atom or molecule with an intense enough EM field. Plasmas are routinely made with RF, for example. From a QM standpoint, this would be a multiphoton interaction. if you Google multiphoton ionization you will find lots of hits.

[EquisDeXD]

The wave-function doesn't represent a concrete thing in Nature, it's a mathematical device used to calculate certain things about the Hydrogen atom, such as the energy levels, transition rates, etc..

They can be calculated in other ways, e.g. Heisenberg matrices, or Feynmans path integral method. So when the wave-function 'collapses' it is of no significance whatever, because the system has changed in a way that requires a new wave-function to describe it.

 

The Electron doesn't hide in a 'probability cloud' around the Proton, when it's bound to the Proton, they both cease to exist as single entities and a new entity is formed, the Hydrogen atom, which has excitations which can be deduced using the wave-function, among other methods. If you use the 'probability cloud' model to perform calculations you will get errors.

 

I think a wave function represents not anything physical, but rather just the probabilities of finding a particle in various energy states. An electron cloud itself, I guess could be the superposition of an electron. Though, I do have a problem that needs some explaining. Since a wave function extends indefinitely which means the superposition of a particle can occupy multiple locations in that infinite domain, why don't chemical reactions happen from miles away?

[derek w]

The absorption spectrum of an atom can also be altered if it's in a magnetic field,lowering the frequency require to make an electron jump to a higher energy shell.

Edited October 5, 2012 by derek w

[StringJunky]

I think a wave function represents not anything physical, but rather just the probabilities of finding a particle in various energy states. An electron cloud itself, I guess could be the superposition of an electron. Though, I do have a problem that needs some explaining. Since a wave function extends indefinitely which means the superposition of a particle can occupy multiple locations in that infinite domain, why don't chemical reactions happen from miles away?

 

Probability decreases with distance.

[EquisDeXD]

Probability decreases with distance.

 

Yeah, I know that, so what? And that's just the probability of "measuring" it, prior to measurement the particle is in superposition.

[StringJunky]

That's why chemical reactions "don't happen from miles away".

[EquisDeXD]

That's why chemical reactions "don't happen from miles away".

 

But the particle is still in superposition prior to measurement, which means it occupies all possible energy states simultaneously.