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In this section:

The Optics Book

1. Before Optics
2. Light and Illumination
3. Reflection and refraction
4. Geometrical Optics and thin lenses
5. The human eye
6. Optics instruments
7. Scattering & spectrum
8. Color
9. Interferences & difraction
10. Polarization
11. Quantic Optics

Light before Quantum Theory
Radiation of a black mass
Photoelectric Effect
Quantum Theory
Light: wave or particle?
Faster particles than Light?

Light: Wave or particle?

We have now arrived at a dilemma.  We don’t know exactly what Light is, or what the nature of Light is.  We can explain the phenomenons of Light sometimes with the wave theory, sometimes with the quantum theory, and in some cases, such as Light propagation, both theories are valid.  But if this is so, what is Light?

What happens is that Light behaviour is like a wave for it’s propagation meanwhile it has a particle character when it interacts with the matter.

The question of whether Light is a wave or a particle is still being debated.

 
The Optics. Made by Karen, Timothy and, César for ThinkQuest . 1999 - 2000 All rights reserved