UNDERSTANDING

PS
Physical Science 12 LIGHT AS A PARTICLE
GROUP 6
Speed of Light

One of the Scientist

who tried to measure
the speed of light
was Galileo Galilei.
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In 1676, the Danish

astronomer Ole Roemer
(1644–1710) became the
first person to measure
the speed of light.
 Note that all Electromagnetic (EM)
wave travel in a vacuum at a
z constant speed of 3 x 108 m/s. The
regions of the EM spectrum are
arranged according to decreasing
wavelengths and increasing
frequencies.
z
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Light as a Particle
Isaac Newton
 When he was performing an
experiment of the colors of
light. He noticed that the light
is casted sharp shadows.
This led him to think of light
as something like matter.
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Isaac Newton
 Then, he postulated that light was in
the form of particles, which stated
that visible light is composed of
submicroscopic particles that were
later called photons (a term coined
by Gilbert Lewis in 1926).
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 Photons are elementary

particles of light and are
referred to as packets or
bundles of energy. These carry
energy that can be transferred
to other particles duringClick icon to add picture
interactions.
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The following are the properties of Photons:

1. They move at constant speed of 3 x 108

m/s in a vacuum.
2. They are massless.

3. They carry energy and momentum.

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4. They have no charge just like a neutron
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Albert Einstein

 He explained the photo-

electric effect, which was
somehow similar to what
Newton postulated, it did not
only pave the way for the
development of quantum
mechanics, but it also gave
him a Noble Prize.
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Physical Science 12 Thank You!