Cecil Moore wrote:

Jim Kelley wrote:

But how does a photon tell the electron which way it should move?


Energy and momentum must be conserved.

Do you really want to go there? :-) According to QED, you first need
to find some negative energy photons. Then you need to get them to
propagate backward in time and subsequently interact with electrons.
Then, the electrons can then move forward in time and emit positive
energy photons while conserving momentum.

A photon which, if the direction in which it is emitted is unknown,
can be made to create a diffraction pattern - implying that a wave was
emitted rather than a particle. Putting us right back where we started.


Allow me to paraphrase Feynman: Only particles exist.

Dear Merrium Webster,

On behalf of a friend of mine, please consider adding this definition
to your dictionary:

paraphrase - to restate text in different form such that it conveys
unintended meaning

But what is it about this "cloud" that is actually cloud-like? Isn't
it really more like a wave of photons? :-)


If you prefer liquid analogies to gaseous analogies, feel
free.

A wave of photons. It's a physics joke, Cecil. Laugh already.

73, ac6xg