• Question: What would happen if you collided a photn with another photon?

    Asked by slayertom to Alan, Caspar, Diana, Murray, Sarah on 21 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Diana Drennan

      Diana Drennan answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      I’m honestly not sure. Mostly because light has properties of both particles and waves. If we imagine a photon as a particle, then when they collide, they should bounce off each other. If we imagine a photon as a wave, then when they collide, they should just pass through each other. It’s a good question – if you find out, let me know !!

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      It is generally believed that photons cannot technically collide with each other. Photons behave as waves in free space and when they cross paths, they can interfere with each other but the interference pattern is a bit like ripples on water that approach each other, form a pattern of peaks and troughs and then continue on their way.

      If matter is present where the photons cross, effects caused by accelerated electric charges may allow the photons to interact. This interaction is not technically a collision but it can result in an exchange of energy with many possible outcomes.

    • Photo: Caspar Addyman

      Caspar Addyman answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      duplicate question.. http://ias.im/35.1660

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