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What is a Photon?
Photons are the fundamental particles, or quantum units, of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, infrared and ultraviolet light. They are the elementary carriers of electromagnetic energy and play a fundamental role in photonics, where light is generated, transmitted, controlled, and detected.
Photons have no rest mass and travel at the speed of light in vacuum. Their energy is determined by their frequency, while properties such as wavelength, polarization, phase, and momentum can be controlled or measured. These properties enable photons to carry information and interact with matter, making them fundamental to optical communications, sensing, lasers, and quantum technologies.
key properties of photons
Energy
A photon's energy is directly related to the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation.
Wavelength
The wavelength determines where the photon lies within the electromagnetic spectrum, from ultraviolet to infrared and beyond.
Quantum properties
Photons can exhibit properties such as superposition and entanglement, which are exploited in quantum technologies and quantum communication.
