5e97c331   
   From: rrllff@yahoo.com   
      
   On Jun 7, 9:28 pm, RichD  wrote:   
   > I attended a seminar on lasers recently,   
   > discussing new ideas for using them as pumps   
   > for electron beam acceleration.  He referred   
   > to the photons being in phase in a laser, a   
   > key component of the operation.   
   >   
   > I don't get this.  Classical waves, in   
   > electromagnetism, consist of phase, which   
   > explains interference.  OK.  But the photon   
   > (particle) model is uusually used to explain   
   > iteraction with matter, dicrete bundles of   
   > energy.  But particles don't have phase.  So   
   > if we visualize a flow of photons down a   
   > waveguide, like a rain of bullets, where does   
   > phase fit in?   
   >   
   > What does it mean, phsyically, to talk about   
   > a photon's phase?   
      
   In my opinion most confusion regarding the wave/particle duality is   
   from a general misconception.  Light is neither a particle nor a   
   wave.  It is light.  Our limited thought processes can accept certain   
   properties easier if we can attribute them to out everyday   
   experiences, hence the particle and wave descriptions.   
      
   Start thinking of light as an entity in itself without forcing it to   
   conform to familiar models.  This removes all the "inconsistencies"   
   that unnecessarily worry too many people.   
      
   http://www.richardisher.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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