Explaining the Nature of Photons to Lay Persons

Posted on 2007-03-23 as a part of the Photonics Spotlight.

Permanent link: http://www.rp-photonics.com/spotlight_2007_03_23.html

Author: Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta, RP Photonics Consulting GmbH

Ref.: Richard P. Feynman, “QED. The strange theory of light and matter”, Princeton Science Library, ISBN 0-691-02417-0

Normally, it should be considered a hopeless attempt to explain the basics of quantum electrodynamics (QED) to lay persons. The Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman once took this challenge and mastered it in a way which is amazing indeed. It may be irritating at first how Feynman takes this deductive approach, first describing a photon model for light which has to appear rather strange to the beginner. Then, however, he demonstrates in a fascinating way how a variety of surprising phenomena can be deducted from that model. Of course, anyone dealing more closely with photonics, e.g. studying it at University level, will also have a lot of pleasure from reading this book, which demonstrates very nicely how fascinating physics can be.