What is "photon"

"unit of electromagnetic radiation," 1926 in modern sense, from photo- "light" + -on "unit."

n. (context particle English) The quantum of light and other electromagnetic energy, regarded as a discrete particle having zero rest mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime. It is a gauge boson.

n. a quantum of electromagnetic radiation; an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle

A photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of all forms of electromagnetic radiation including light. It is the force carrier for electromagnetic force, even when static via virtual photons. The photon has zero rest mass and as a result, the interactions of this force with matter at long distance are observable at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Like all elementary particles, photons are currently best explained by quantum mechanics but exhibit wave–particle duality, exhibiting properties of both waves and particles. For example, a single photon may be refracted by a lens and exhibit wave interference with itself, and it can behave as a particle with definite and finite measurable position and momentum. The photon's wave and quanta qualities are two observable aspects of a single phenomenon, and cannot be described by any mechanical model; a representation of this dual property of light, which assumes certain points on the wavefront to be the seat of the energy, is not possible. The quanta in a light wave cannot be spatially localized. Some defined physical parameters of a photon are listed.

The modern concept of the photon was developed gradually by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century to explain experimental observations that did not fit the classical wave model of light. The benefit of the photon model was that it accounted for the frequency dependence of light's energy, and explained the ability of matter and electromagnetic radiation to be in thermal equilibrium. The photon model accounted for anomalous observations, including the properties of black-body radiation, that others (notably Max Planck) had tried to explain using semiclassical models. In that model, light was described by Maxwell's equations, but material objects emitted and absorbed light in quantized amounts (i.e., they change energy only by certain particular discrete amounts). Although these semiclassical models contributed to the development of quantum mechanics, many further experiments beginning with the phenomenon of Compton scattering of single photons by electrons, validated Einstein's hypothesis that light itself is quantized. In 1926 the optical physicist Frithiof Wolfers and the chemist Gilbert N. Lewis coined the name photon for these particles. After Arthur H. Compton won the Nobel Prize in 1927 for his scattering studies, most scientists accepted that light quanta have an independent existence, and the term photon was accepted.

In the Standard Model of particle physics, photons and other elementary particles are described as a necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime. The intrinsic properties of particles, such as charge, mass and spin, are determined by this gauge symmetry. The photon concept has led to momentous advances in experimental and theoretical physics, including lasers, Bose–Einstein condensation, quantum field theory, and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. It has been applied to photochemistry, high-resolution microscopy, and measurements of molecular distances. Recently, photons have been studied as elements of quantum computers, and for applications in optical imaging and optical communication such as quantum cryptography.

'Photon: The Idiot Adventures ' is a six-episode anime OVA series created by Masaki Kajishima. The main character, Photon, possesses superhuman strength but is extremely simple-minded. He engages in heroic adventures of different varieties. He accidentally gets married to a rebel space pilot named Keyne, and becomes involved in fighting an evil wannabe galactic emperor and his "bumbling henchmen".

The ending song, "Pinch!", is performed by Yui Horie. A manga based on the anime was written by Hiroshi Kanno.

Photon was a live action television show in the mid-1980s, which was tied in to the Photon lasertag arenas and home game. It was produced by DIC Entertainment as a first run syndicated kids series which shown in various syndicated markets through most of the mid eighties. Animator Shinji Aramaki served as miniature model maker/designer on the special effects team for the series.

A photon is an elementary particle of light.

Photon may also refer to:

• Photon (comics), two superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe, both formerly known as "Captain Marvel"
  • Photon (Image Comics), a comic book superhero from Image Comics
• Photon (anime), a Japanese animated video series
• Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth, the original lasertag game
  • Photon (TV series), a short-lived television show tied into the game
• Photon, the codename of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system
• Motorola Photon, a Motorola smartphone
• Photon belt, an esoteric spiritual belief
• Photon (EP), an EP by Bailter Space
• Photon, a song by VNV Nation from the album Automatic
• Photon, the Higonnet and Moyroud's Lumitype

Photon, in comics, may refer to:

• Monica Rambeau, the female, former leader of the Avengers, also known as Captain Marvel
• Genis-Vell, the male son of Mar-Vell, also formerly known as Legacy and Captain Marvel
• Photon, a member of Youngblood
• Jason Dean, the villain who murdered Nova's uncle Ralph Rider.

Photon is a fictional comic book superhero from Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, she first appeared in Team Youngblood, a spin-off comic of the popular Youngblood series of comic books.

Photon is the third studio album from Japanese electronica/ rock duo Boom Boom Satellites, released on July 24, 2002.