Light quantum from classical electromagnetic theory

Wei-Long She

doi:10.1117/12.730984

31 August 2007 Light quantum from classical electromagnetic theory

Wei-Long She

Proceedings Volume 6664, The Nature of Light: What Are Photons?; 66640A (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.730984
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We show in this paper that the quantized energies of light in vacuum can be derived directly from the classical electromagnetic theory through the consideration of statistics based on classical physics, which are just a series of expectation values corresponding to relatively stable statistic distributions of electromagnetic harmonic oscillators. Therefore, the quantization of energy is an intrinsic property of light as a classical electromagnetic wave and has no need of being related to particles. The theory developed in this paper is also used to derive the energy equipartition theorem and the discrete levels of hydrogen atom from classical mechanics.

Citation Download Citation

Wei-Long She "Light quantum from classical electromagnetic theory", Proc. SPIE 6664, The Nature of Light: What Are Photons?, 66640A (31 August 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.730984

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