What is "light ". Is it a wave or partical?

Question

if it is a partical how does it move ( radiat out ) and if it is a wave how can a wave be produced from the heating of matter. two lumps of wood basically. In laymans terms please.

Thankyou

Answer 1

Light is a wave. It moves through space because of how the two components (electric and magnetic, hence the term "electromagnetic wave") interact. It's pretty complicated. If you want more detail feel free to ask.

Light is a form of energy, and can be emitted from atoms that are in an "excited state". Basically, the electrons are in a higher energy level than normal and when they move down to a more stable energy level they emit a "photon" that has the same energy as the different between the two energy levels. A photon is thought of being a particle.

SO, both are models that are useful for describing the characteristics of light. Particles are useful for describing how light is released from atoms, and the wave model explains how light moves.

Answer 2

Light is both a wave and a particle. To avoid the confusion, I have decided to regard light as a stream of particles that carry a wave with them. A bit like a motorboat that creates waves as it "flies" along.

Answer 3

Both. It's called the wave-particle duality of light. Most commonly observed phenomena with light can be explained by waves. But the photoelectric effect suggested a particle nature for light

The electrons in free atoms will be found in only certain discrete energy states. These sharp energy states are associated with the orbits or shells of electrons in an atom, e.g., a hydrogen atom. One of the implications of these quantized energy states is that only certain photon energies are allowed when electrons jump down from higher levels to lower levels,  producing the hydrogen spectrum.

This is what happens when a log is burned.

Answer 4

It appears to be a wave at macroscopic scales.

Depending on the experiment conducted, it can behave as a particle or a wave.

In the world of quantum physics it is a particle only, there are no waves in the quantum world.

Answer 5

Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from radio waves to gamma rays. Electromagnetic radiation waves, as their names suggest are fluctuations of electric and magnetic fields, which can transport energy from one location to another. Visible light is not inherently different from the other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum with the exception that the human eye has evolved to detect visible waves. Electromagnetic radiation can also be described in terms of a stream of photons which are massless particles each travelling with wavelike properties at the speed of light. A photon is the smallest quantity (quantum) of energy which can be transported and it was the realization that light travelled in discrete quanta that was the origins of Quantum Theory.It was not by accident that humans evolved to ‘see’ light. The detection of light is a very powerful tool for probing the universe around us. As light interacts with matter it can be become

altered and by studying light that has originated or interacted with matter, many of the properties of that matter can be determined. It is through the study of light that for example we can understand the composition of the stars light years away or watch the processes that occur in the living cell as they happen.

Answer 6

Light always travels in wave.. so it is basically considered to be a wave rather than a particle... but some properties of particle are also found in.

Answer 7

It interferes like a particle, travels like a wave.

to answer your wood question, the photon comes from electrons being excited and going back into their original orbits.

Answer 8

if you want a definitive answer to 'what is light, a wave or particle?'  you need to remember that, as many people have said, it can act like either.  

because of that fact, it is utterly unlike the waves or particles you might be used to in everyday life.

You'll know what light 'is' when you let go of concepts of things you come across everyday, and accept that things on such a tiny scale are very strange!

as strange as they are, they are still perfectly describable, just not in such simple terms

Answer 9

I have no intention of doing your physics homework for you, little boy.

Answer 10

It is a wave with a range of wave lengths.

But some small pressure can be measured on a body hit by light.

A photon behaves like a very small particle.