Interesting post in the ITLAD forum

[mick]

Thanks. I'll see if I can find it at the library.

Copy available here. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ar...ulimasters.pdf

[eyeoneblack]

I don't know CF, I like that site (even signed up sometime ago) but this business of a photon NOT being reflected but instead being regenerated by a mirror is doubtful to me.

I think if we asked a particle physicist about the qualities of a say, a silver atom, he probably would not say that it is reflective whereas other elements aren't. That is, there is nothing unique about a silver atom at the micro level that says mirrors should be made of it. The argument that the photon excites an electron which then releases another photon applies to all elements, I suppose.

It is only on the macro level, billions of atoms taken together, that the reflective quality manifests. This makes it a Classical or Newtonian problem which describes light being REFLECTED accurately.

Besides, there are a number of experiments done by particle physicists that rely on mirrors to reflect or change the course of a single photon. I can cite some of these if you're interested.

Richard

[eyeoneblack]

On further thought (and this is a puzzle) I think, considering light and mirrors, it's probably a case of light as a waveform rather than a particle. Light might not take on the properties of particles until it is measured, which would occur when the waveform encountered the retina.

I've never read anything specifically about this little problem.