XPost: sci.physics   
   From: jeroen@nospam.please   
      
   On 2/14/26 00:35, Stefan Ram wrote:   
   > john larkin  wrote or quoted:   
   >> Single photons sure behave like particles, especially the energetic   
   >> ones.   
   >   
   >    Wave-like interference can be observed in the famous double-slit   
   >    experiment. Now, what happens when we reduce the intensity of the   
   >    incoming light to one single photon? We get one single spot on the   
   >    detector screen! So, does this mean "no wave behavior"? Well, when   
   >    we repeat this with many single photons, one after the other, in   
   >    the end, we get the same interference pattern on that screen created   
   >    by all those dots!   
      
   This is misleading. There is no single-photon gun. The only thing   
   you can do is to reduce the light intensity to a level where the   
   interval between detection events is much longer than the transit   
   time of EM waves through the setup. This doesn't demonstrate   
   unequivocally that light consists of discrete photons travelling   
   from a source to a detector. It just demonstrates that light   
   *detection* is quantized.   
      
   Experiments that pretend to prove the particle nature of light   
   invariably use tricks with non-linear optics, coincidence detectors   
   and statistical foul play. That includes the experiments of Aspect,   
   Grangier, Zeilinger, Kwiat, Gisin and numerous others.   
      
   Jeroen Belleman   
      
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