The Quantum nature of light
The Quantum nature of light
This chapter begins with a survey of early experimental results — the Planck spectrum, the photoelectric effect, and Compton scattering — that are usually presented as evidence for the existence of photons. The photon concept is indeed sufficient to explain these results, but it is not necessary. There are semi-classical models that explain the same data without introducing photons. The crucial experiment, in which light consisting of a single photon reflects from a beam splitter, depends on the essential indivisibility of photons, and it excludes all semi-classical descriptions of light. This discussion is followed by a preview of modern methods of production and detection of individual photons, e.g., spontaneous down conversion and Silicon avalanche-photodiode counters, together with an introduction to the quantum theory of light based on the correspondence principle.
Keywords: Planck spectrum, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, semi-classical model, down conversion, avalanche-photodiode, correspondence principle
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
