By asking for some type of description of what is happening in the space
that "e&m radiation is going through" I am trying to find some sort of
description for myself and for students. It is a common question for which
I don't have a good answer. I think the original question of whether a
photon is a wave packet was really asking this same question.
Several reponses have seemed to center on the "answer" that it is
inappropriate to ask this type of question. I don't find that an
appropriate response. I think that reponse is just a sneaky way of saying
"we don't know." If an event occurs in one spot and because of that
something is detected in another spot, it seems quite appropriate to ask how
did that happen, and to ask if something transpired in the space between the
two spots. If we don't know how to answer this then let's just come clean
and say "we don't know."
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817