November 4th, 2003, 09:24 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2002
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Re: Important Math Question
Quote:
Originally posted by geoschmo:
Yes, finite portion might have been more correct. However, you still have problems trying to calculate the possible number of photons at any one point in space at any particular point in time.
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Once you have it limited to a finite volume, the task becomes much easier; the energy of a single photon is hv, where h is a particular constant (and depends on units) and v is the frequency of the photon. With the energy density of the light in that volume, and the freqency distribution in that volume (both measureable), the total number of photons can be calculated fairly readily.
If you are talking about an absolute point, rather than a volume, then the answer is trivial: 0. Photons don't seem to exist as points; they seem to exist as waves and particles.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
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