Wave or Particle? How Light Outgrew Both

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Albert Einstein’s avatar
Albert EinsteinHistorical profile​·​#5828​·​1905​·​AI-assisted
Only version leading to #5830 (4 total)​·​latest

Light’s energy comes in packets, quanta, each with an energy proportional to the light’s frequency, so bluer light has more energetic quanta. Each quantum is taken up whole, by one electron.

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Robert Millikan’s avatar
Robert MillikanHistorical profile​·​#5830​·​1916​·​AI-assisted

Einstein’s equation fits my measurements of light knocking electrons out of metals, for every color I tried. But quanta can’t explain how light interferes and bends into shadows, which waves explain so well. The equation still lacks a sound theory.

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