On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:33:46 +0000, Ian White GM3SEK
wrote:

Quantum theory describes electromagnetic energy as being divided into a
series of packets called photons, so (total energy in a stream of
photons) = (number of photons/second) x (energy of individual photons).

Energy is not expressed with a time in the denominator. The standard
quantum theory expression for energy is eV - time is wholly absent as
it should be.

This also means that EM energy doesn't exist in pure sine-waves

EM theory does not exclude the classic description of pure sine waves.
This is not a neither/nor situation.

- the
waveform is actually built up in steps, very much like digitized audio.

This appears to be the beginnings of a description about to fall off
the edge. What waveform? This is a conceit of time.

The step size is the energy content of one quantum.

No, the step size as you describe is the potential difference of
quantization, an engineering term, not a quantum mechanics term. It
is quantisizing an amplitude to construct the wave in a time domain.
Quanta is the complete wave in a frequency domain.

The transform from one domain to the other is classic Fourier. His
analysis revealed that one unique energy (a single frequency) can be
decimated into many components (amplitudes over time). The
transformation is fully reversible (many amplitudes over time turned
back into one single frequency) without any information loss.

Mixing the two as being one analysis, corrupts it. Time is not a
factor in energy and cannot be drawn into its discussion through
transforms that mix topics.

The question is: are those steps noticeable enough to be important?

For light and shorter wavelengths, the answer is often Yes. Quantum
theory was developed to explain observations like some kinds of light
being emitted in a series of sharp spectral lines, which cannot be
explained by a wave-only theory. Instead, it has to be thought of as
being built up of individual photons/quanta which can only have certain
"allowed" energy levels.

There is absolutely no distinction between "allowed" energy levels and
resonance which allows only certain frequencies. Resonance has been
historically correlated with circularity, and every instance you site
above is found in the change of orbitals - circular, harmonic motion.

A photon is emitted in the cM band when an electron orbiting a
Hydrogen atom flips its magnetic pole. This event is vastly below the
short wavelengths you describe by a million-fold. A good number of
correspondents here are fully capable of detecting this event with
commercial gear already suitable for the Ham market. They could have
done it 50 years ago too.

This is a quantum event, it is expressed with a classic quantum
energy, and it is resolvable as being important (insofar as
"importance" is a subjective, not quantitative quality). It is
certainly noticeable and is not artificially constrained by scale.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC