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Re: Just what is a particle?





If light is emitted as quanta and detected as quanta, but it acts like
waves as long as nobody touches it, maybe particles of light do not exist.
Maybe the physics of atoms requires that EM waves always be emitted with
quantized energy and absorbed the same, but only the waves are real. (If
so, then how are those single-quantum, light-years-wide light wavefronts
from individual atoms in distant stars collapsed instantly so they only
strike one dye molecule in the retina of our eyes?)

Well said. I was wondering exactly the same thing. Can an eye "feel" anything but
particles? An interaction with one molecule in the retina sure seems particle like
to me. I guess if we just stopped detecting (touching) these light quanta we could
simplify things and just call light a wave. I suggest a moratorium on photon
detection. Just to see how things work out.



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