Re: Energy-sucking EM antennas

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Thu, 26 Aug 1999, Bob Sciamanda wrote:

> Hi Bill,
> Let me better defend the "modern physics" texts.  They are describing the
> situation of about 1905, long before second quantization, wave/particle
> duality, (even the Bohr atom), etc were conceived.

Yes, but even so, you do bring up a good point.  Many typical descriptions
of optical interactions are photon-based, even when wave/particle duality
suggests that there might be value in inspecting both a wave-based
explanation and a particle-based explanation.

My understanding of lasers certainly took a...   "quantum leap"  :)
...after I realized that it's perfectly possible to describe stimulated
emission in terms of phase-locked emission of sphere-waves by the pumped
atoms.  No photons needed (except at the times that the atoms actually
decide to respond to the waves.)

I love to predict the future (and sometimes I'm even correct.)  I predict
that someday someone is going to take a wave-based look at some bit of
physics which until then had traditionally been explained as particles,
and as a result they will make a profound discovery which will form the
next physics revolution.  Physics revolutions come from gazing in a
direction that for some reason everyone else avoids.  For example, it
appears to me that those "tiny atoms" have genuine nonradiating EM fields
surrounding them, yet I've never encountered such a concept in my readings
in physics.  It's an oversight.  This is exiting, because if there is one
oversight like this, there may be other larger ones.  Eventually someone
is going to encounter one of these which unveils discoveries as important
as the laser, or even as important as QM itself.  (If this ever happens,
do I win anything?)      :)

> (It was Einstein's 1905 paper on this photoelectric effect which is cited
> as earning his Nobel prize.)  Nowadays, the "proper" conceptual model of a
> photon is much debated.

I wonder what insights we'll obtain if we imagine that Einstein's zinc
plate is being illuminated by waves instead of particles?  The atoms in
the metal should resonate just like individual atoms do in the "energy
sucking" absorbtion interaction.  What consequences might these vibrating
EM fields have?  Will one atom communicate them to the next?  Will the
crystal array of non-radiating resonators display any unexpected effects?
If we keep the illuminator on for a long time, and if the frequency is
adjusted to just below the electron-emission threshold energy, will these
fields build up somehow in the metal?  What will this phenomenon impact?
Maybe it will change the way the metal interacts with virtual photons (and
hence change the index of refraction or skin depth or something.)  If the
vibrating EM fields which control the "aperature size" of atomic
absorbtion have never been thoroughly studied, perhaps there are
interesting things out in the underbrush awaiting the first explorer's
footprint.

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William J. Beaty                                  SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
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