photon
/ˈfəʊtɒn
/noun Physics
A particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. A photon carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency but has zero rest mass.The world of the realist is populated by electrons and photons, quarks and gluons....
- Until now, physicists have only been able to entangle photons, electrons and atoms, using different methods in each case.
- A photon has zero rest mass, but it carries energy and momentum.
Derivatives
photonic
- Along with Tapp, he is also developing a scanner for measuring body composition that combines induction tomography with an optical imaging technique called photonic scanning.
- Laser or photonic engines, because they might be propelled by laser beams inflating a gigantic sail, may have even larger specific impulses.
- Such band gaps are the photonic analogue of the electronic band gaps displayed by conventional crystals, but here they prevent photons - rather than electrons - from propagating.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Greek phōs, phōt- 'light', on the pattern of electron.