wrote:
Richard Clark wrote:

snip

My presumption is that "special properties" and "some kinds of light"
are congruent. Again, it appears to be as tautological as might my
examples of "extraordinary properties."

Where does this lead us?

To the conclusion that a photon is a photon.

All photons propagate the same way.

Electromagnetic radiation is electromagnetic radiation.

All electromagnetic radiation propagates the same way.

The interaction of electromagnetic radiation and matter is a function
of the photon energy, which is a function of the photon frequency.


Agreed with all the above, but...

There is no hard and fast dividing line between antennas and optics.

Certainly no hard and fast line, because the same basic physics applies
at all frequencies and wavelengths. But there are HUGE differences in
the size and importance of some effects, for RF and for light.

We cannot tell how big those differences are by just talking about them.
We need to rub a few numbers together, and then see what comes out.

So the very first step into quantum mechanics is to put some numbers
into the E=hf equation. This immediately proves that quantum effects
(although still theoretically present) are too small to be of any
practical importance in antenna engineering. At that point, any sensible
person would realise they had taken a wrong turning, and get straight
back on the road.

For antenna engineering, that road is ENTIRELY built on the classical
physics of the 18th-19th century. It can be a hard road to travel, but
it's a reliably straight one. Any side turnings are NOT going to be
short-cuts to a better understanding.



--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek