A photon is a elementary particle which, according to the principles of quantum physics, composes the light . Like all elementary particles, photons lack a known internal structure and are not formed by other smaller particles.
The photons are the carrier particles of visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, x-rays, gamma rays and the rest of the forms of electromagnetic radiation . They travel in a vacuum at a constant speed and have a zero invariant mass (they lack dough ). Photons, on the other hand, have no electric charge.
Currently, photons are considered to be the responsible for the generation of all magnetic and electric fields . Numerous natural processes cause the emission of photons: if a particle with electric charge it is accelerated, for example, these elementary particles are emitted.
To science dedicated to the study of the production and control of photons is known as photonics . One of the most important applications of photons is the laser, which has multiple uses. Photons are also applied in microscopes and optical communications.
If we read the documents about the composition of the light that were written throughout history, we will see that until the 18th century almost all the theories spoke of the presence of particles. The reason why it took so long to reach a formal acceptance of these ideas was because the scientists of that time did not know how to explain certain phenomena (such as birefrigence, refraction or diffraction of light) based on the model of the particles.
Throughout the 17th century, scientists Rene Descartes , Robert hooke and Christian Huygens they tried to solve this impossibility of associating the particles with the phenomena of light with the proposal of the wave theories, according to which the light propagates by means of mechanical waves emitted by a light source. Despite their efforts, the theories that pointed to the particles (which we know today as photons) remained in force, largely thanks to the work of Isaac Newton .
However, in the early nineteenth century the wave models became very important when August Fresnel and Thomas Young they showed that with these theories It was perfectly possible to explain diffraction and interference. Later, Heinrich Hertz confirmed the ideas of James Clerk Maxwell about the light being an electromagnetic wave and this jeopardized the permanence of the photon model.
But the wave theory was not enough to explain the light in its entirety: it assured that it depended exclusively on its intensity, while several experiments showed that, on the contrary, it depended only on its frequency . Albert Einstein He played a fundamental role in the fusion of wave and photon theories as he pointed out that the anomalies noted in many tests could be explained by the presence of quantum dots in the light wave independently to move although the diffusion of the wave Out continuous in space.
Foton Motor On the other hand, it is the name by which a Chinese manufacturer of agricultural machinery, trucks, vans and other vehicles is known. The company It was founded in 1996 and currently has about thirty thousand employees. Pickup Foton Tunland It is one of its most famous models worldwide.
At language colloquial of Argentina Finally, a photon is known as a high quality or important photography : "The magazine published a photon of the president looking sideways at the Minister of Education", “The image would be a photon if it wasn't for that bird that just went through”.
