One of the fundamental dichotomies in classical physics was that between energy and matter. By the late nineteenth century, most scientists agreed that matter is composed of tiny, discrete particles with measurable mass. At the time, the atom was...

For many purposes, light can be considered as a form of wave. However, quantum theory shows that, particularly with respect to the interaction of light with matter (as in the photoelectric effect), light energy is not continuously distributed...

An indivisible quantum of ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION. Light is composed of streams of photons. The energy carried by the photon is related to its frequency. Higher-frequency radiation, such as ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION, carries more energy than does...

In physics, the photon is the elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena. It is the carrier of electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, including gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, microwaves,...

TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH NEWS One key to enabling devices that store and transmit information in individual particles like photons is controlling entanglement. When photons are entangled, aspects of the photons that can store a bit of information -- like polarization -- remain...

Little-Discussed Imaging Opportunities in Light Control Despite the recent plunge of Internet stocks, and with many photonic start-ups losing their high evaluations over the last quarter of 2000, there remains ample evidence to suggest that the glory days of photonic switching are...

A new NASA space telescope will give scientists a peek at some of the most energetic objects and events in the universe. The new Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope to be launched next spring doesn't see visible light like our eyes, but gamma rays, the...

Sunlight has never really caught fire as a power source, mostly because generating electricity with solar cells is more expensive and less efficient than some conventional sources.But a new solar panel unveiled this month by the Georgia Tech Research Institute hopes to brighten the future...