Astronomy Fundamentals

Quantum Mechanics

How can light be both a particle and a wave?

Light can be represented either as unit particles (photons) or unit waves. This phenomenon, known as wave-particle duality, is a fundamental tenet of quantum mechanics, which describes the motion of particles on very small-sized scales.



Close

This is a web preview of the "The Handy Astronomy Answer Book" app. Many features only work on your mobile device. If you like what you see, we hope you will consider buying. Get the App