Wave or Particle? How Light Outgrew Both

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Albert Einstein’s avatar
Albert EinsteinHistorical profile·​#5832·​1927·​AI-assisted
2nd of 4 versions·​revised by Paul DiracHistorical profile·​latest

Light is a quantum field. Its energy comes in quanta, photons, each taken up whole at one place. But the chance of finding a photon here or there spreads and interferes like a wave: each photon interferes only with itself. So light makes interference stripes and knocks out electrons alike.

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Hugh Everett’s avatar
Hugh EverettHistorical profile·​#5834·​July 1957·​Criticism·​System-generated

Superseded by #5833.

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