On
the propagation of light:
Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Just, as when
in dealing with electricity flowing
through a conductor , electromagnetic “lines
of force” consisting of lines of
linked or oriented virtual Photons ,
exist around the conductors
carrying the electrical energy . So too light and all electromagnetic radiation
must be thought of as propagating through open ended lines of
force, these lines of force consist of virtual photons of the virtual
photon field and line up in the direction of propagation of the
electromagnetic radiation into a line whose ends rest on infinity.
When
dealing with the propagation of light , the terms (1) frequency , (2) eigen
energy value ,(3) wavelength and (4) intensity must all be understood as being
distinct but related properties of the electromagnetic radiation:
(1)
The eigen energy value must
be thought of as being the energy value of each individual photon , this value
never changes until the photon is either absorbed or transforms into a virtual
photon , the original eigen value is retained almost intact.
(2)
The frequency of the
electromagnetic radiation , in the case of light is dependent on the intervals
between which an excited electron repeatedly emits a given eigen value. Thus
when we speak of ultra violet radiation as having a frequency of 8.5 x 10 14 Hz it should be
understood as photons of an eigen value
of 4.5 x 10 18 J being emitted at the rate of 8.5 x 10 14 Hz/s.
(3)
Wave-length refers to the
velocity of the radiation divided by frequency which in this case would be c/f.
(4)
The intensity of
electromagnetic radiation is dependent on all three factors namely , frequency
, eigen value and wave-length. When
dealing with light the intensity is dependent upon the number of photons
present in a single line of force. Thus the more photons present in a
line of force , the more intense the light is:
Near
the source , light can be thought of as an almost solid entity with each line
of force being heavily populated with real photons, the distances between which
depend on the frequency with which the
source emits photons. Since the line of force in the “virtual” photon field is already
oriented from the atom and in the direction of propagation , it follows that
this presents the easiest path for subsequent emitted photons to follow.
These densely packed lines of force
account for the intensity of light near an emitting source. As the distance
from the source increases , real photons from these densely packed lines of
force move into gaps created in the photon front by the geometrical advance and consequent increase in the area of the “wave” , thereby
promoting them into real photons and real lines of force . This diffusion of energy takes place very rapidly
almost at the speed of light itself so that light as it moves away from the
source experiences a reduction in intensity in proportion to the distance
covered which follows the inverse square law.
Thus as each line at the leading edge of the front increases in area ,
it is replenished from photons at the rear of the propagating wave . Both the
number of photons and the overall energy of the “wave” remains constant , only the area over which this energy is
spread increases , resulting in a decrease in intensity in keeping with the
inverse square law , the intensity decreasing inversely with the square of the
distance from the source.
Thus at
great distances from the source the photons originally packed closely into single lines of force and resulting in the
original intensity of light would be spread over a thin shell , resulting in a
reduction of intensity proportional to the inverse square law. If the wave
propagates further , there is not enough energy to go round and the propagating
wave breaks up and the photons composing the wave are transformed into
“virtual” photons.
This model
of the propagation of light succeeds in explaining for the first time how light
can propagate both as individual photons which preserve their individual
energies and as a wave front possessing the properties of both frequency and
wave-length whose intensity decreases inversely with the square of the distance
from the source as described by the inverse square law.