Photon Acceleration, Absorption, and Time Delay: In question Insights

Photons do not accelerate from 0 to c, as they always travel at c from their creation, while photons do not accelerate to light speed.

Photons always travel at the speed of light (c). This is a fundamental principle of physics. Photons, which are massless particles, always travel at the speed of light in a vacuum (denoted as 'c') from the moment of their creation. This means that photons do not need to accelerate from a standstill (0) to the speed of light, as they are born with this velocity. They move through space at this constant speed.

Photons are the elementary particles of electromagnetic radiation, which includes visible light. When we refer to light, we are essentially talking about photons.

When a photon enters a dense but transparent medium, it is absorbed by an electron in the medium's atom and converted to electron-energy. This destabilizes the electrons, causing them to release excess energy as they do so by releasing photons. This process results in a time delay due to the infinitesimal loss of photon energy, causing photons to travel slower through transparent and dense media. This process contributes to the physics of photons.

Following process involved: E = hf; ΔE = hΔf; f/Δf; E/ΔE; 

When a photon enters a dense but transparent medium, it interacts with electrons (e) within the atoms of the medium.

1. In this interaction, the photon's energy (E) is typically absorbed by an electron, leading to the excitation of the electron to a higher energy state (e+E).

2. This excitation, or destabilization of the electron, is temporary and results in the electron's subsequent return to its original, lower energy state (e).

3. As the electron returns to its lower energy state, it releases the excess energy (E-ΔE). it gained from the absorbed photon in the form of a new photon. This is often referred to as re-emission or scattering.

4. The released photon may have a slightly lower energy (E-ΔE) (higher wavelength) than the initially absorbed photon due to the energy lost (ΔE) during the interaction.

5. The cumulative effect of these interactions with electrons in the medium can lead to a time delay (Δt) for the passage of photons through the medium.

6. This time delay occurs because the re-emission process introduces a delay between the absorption and re-emission of photons.

7. Overall, this process contributes to our understanding of how photons interact with matter and can affect the speed at which light propagates through transparent but dense media.