CCST 9051 What are we made of –

the Fundamental Nature of

Matter

Lecture 10:
Light and Photons

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 Why Light?
Without light, we can see nothing, even the darkness.
Without sunlight, there is no life.
The science and applications of
Light-based technology is a major
light creates revolutionary - but
economic driver with potential to
often unseen - technologies that
revolutionize the 21st century [as
directly improve quality of life
electronics did in the 20th century]
worldwide.

Health Communications Economy Environment Social

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 Light and Photons
Classically, light consists of electromagnetic waves, which are fully
described by Maxwell's equations. On the quantum level,
however, this description has to be extended to introduce the
concept of the photon.

Classic Optics: Light and its interactions with matter are described
in terms of Electromagnetic Waves.
Quantum Optics: Light and its interactions with matter are
described in terms of Photons.

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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Types and Applications

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Electromagnetic Wave

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Color and Wavelength

• When light is viewed as

electromagnetic waves, the color is
defined by the wavelength which is
the length between crests or
between troughs of the wave.
• The light that can be detected by
human eyes is called visible light and
is on a wavelength between 400 to
700 nanometers. One nanometer
(nm) is equal to one billionth of a
meter and is used along with the
micrometer (1 μm or 1 millionth of a
meter) to express unit of small
length.

• The electromagnetic wave regions:

Radio waves, Infrared light, Visible
light, Ultraviolet light, X-rays,
gamma rays. How human eye can see a green leaf

• Seven colors of the rainbow are

visible light.
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 Infrared Light
Infrared light presents on a relatively wide
wavelength range between 700 nm to 1
mm and are generally categorized as
follows:
•Near-infrared ray:700 nm to 2.5 μm
•Mid-infrared ray:2.5 μm to 4 μm
•Far-infrared ray:4 μm to 1000 μm (1 mm)

Near-infrared lights close to visible light are

found in devices used in daily life such as
remote controllers for home appliances and
audio-visual equipment and communications
between portable terminals.

Infrared lights are emitted from a heat source

(or anything that has heat). For example, the
human body at a temperature of about 37 °C
constantly emits far-infrared lights around 10
μm.

Remote controller for TV 8

 Ultraviolet light
• Ultraviolet lights on a short
wavelength away from
visible light are invisible to
humans yet can be seen by
birds and insects. As shown
in the picture on the right,
even flower petals that
appear to the human eye to
have no patterns, can be
seen as having intense
patterns in the center
section to insects that can
see ultraviolet light. Insects Light seen by human Light seen by insects
can in this way find and
swoop down on the nectar
from flowers.

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X-Ray
• When accelerated electrons drastically
decelerate after collision with a material or
change their direction of motion in a
magnetic field, X-rays, electromagnetic
waves of a wavelength between 0.01 to 10
nm, are emitted. X-rays are also generated
when the inner orbit of the atom becomes
vacant and an electron from an outer orbit
makes a transition there.

• X-rays on a wavelength of about 0.01 nm

can strongly penetrate through objects so
are often used in such fields as medicine to
capture interior images of the body and Dental X-ray picture
manufacturing industry to ensure product
quality.

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Gamma Rays
• Gamma rays are high-energy
electromagnetic waves emitted from
the nucleus of atoms in an excitation
state. The energy of gamma ray
photons is ten thousand to 1 million
times greater than the energy
possessed by photons in visible light.
When gamma rays are irradiated
into material, high-speed electrons
are generated and acts on the
surrounding materials. Gamma ray is radiation treatment
used for sterilization and cancer
radiation treatments.

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Plants and Light
• Plants getting plenty of sunlight grow
quick and healthy. Light is indispensable
to growth of plant. However, just as we
humans have preference for food,
plants also have “preference of light”.
Their favorite are blue, red, and near-
infrared lights, and are highly sensitive
to wavelengths of these types of light.

• Plants use light not only for energy

source for photosynthesis. They
recognize the color of the sky to assess
their environment. Plants make use of
the differences of light to detect the Experiment of cultivating rice plants by
length from daybreak to sunset in a day irradiation of red LD (Laser-Diode arrays)
(diurnal rhythm) and also to find in indoor plant
seasonal changes through amount of
sunlight, and set the timing for
morphogenesis (period for flowering,
coloring of leaves and bearing fruit).
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 • When the light wavelength changes in this way, our eyes
sense the difference in “color” to see things as blue or as red.
Brightness Well then, in the case of bright light or faint light, what kind of
difference do our eyes sense? The “photon,” the smallest form

of light
of light, is the key to answering that question.
• We use units such as illuminance or power density (W/m2) to
express brightness of light. Here, let’s try to express brightness
of light based on the number of photons. The photon is a
particle of light and the energy it contains is determined by the
wavelength so the photons gradually appear when made darker.

Number of photons per second per square millimeter

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 • Light is a transverse wave that oscillates in directions
perpendicular to the direction it travels. Natural light
Polarization oscillate 360°in all directions (in the figure, the orange
arrow indicates the direction of oscillation). In contrast
of Light to this, light which oscillates in only one direction is
called polarized light. We make great use of polarized
light for all manner of applications.

Polarizing Plate
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 • Light comes not only from the sun. In
nature, there are types of lights generated in
Light from living living organisms such as the lights emitted
from firefly and bioluminescent jellyfish. Living

organisms - organisms emit light for the reasons such as;

• To collect other organisms for feeding
bioluminescence • To scare away enemies
• To communicate with fellow organisms

The light emitted from organisms is created by

a chemical reaction in their body. 15
 Making, measuring and manipulating
light
The microwave, cell phone, and PC and televisions we have around us, and other
convenient devices such as automatic doors, ATM machines, vending machines, and
automobiles to name just a few. All of these consist of precision devices and
components using technology of light also called photonics. Well then, what exactly
is photonics? Let’s take a look along with the fundamental keywords, “Make,”
“Measure” and “Manipulate”.

Making light
We use light everywhere in our daily lives, including product manufacturing and
inspection, medical treatment, analysis, and information communication.

However, light cannot be stored in a box or carried around in a bag. We have to create
the light that we want whenever we want to use. Well then, how do we go about making
light?

Light is a wave called an electromagnetic wave that is a combination of magnetic field

and electric field. Such a wave can be created by moving electrons.
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 Making Light

synchrotron light Incandescent lamp Laser light

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 • By measuring the light directly emitted from objects or the light
reflected, scattered or transmitted after illuminating an object, we
extract and utilize various kinds of information about the object
including its size, color, distance, components, status and properties.
Measuring Light
• Technology of measuring light is mainly incorporated as light
sensing device called optical sensors into various types of equipment.
A typical method for measuring light by optical sensors is to convert
the light into electricity and measure the electric current.

Semiconductor Photoelectron
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Manipulating
Light
• The reflective and refractive properties of light allow
changing its travel direction by using mirrors, lenses, and
prisms. By controlling or correcting the direction of light
in this way, we make more effective use of light. The
mirrors that we all use every day reverse the direction of
light 180 degrees to show us an image of ourselves and
so can be called a simple optical device.

• Moreover, the camera or our eyes perform the task

of “focusing” by refracting light that enters lenses
(crystalline lenses) and conversing it on a single point to
correctly make an image.

• Recently, a device called a spatial light modulator has Laws of reflection and refraction
been used to create optical patterns dynamically, and
the artificial materials such as metamaterials and
photonic crystals have been used to manipulate light in
ways beyond the existing common knowledge, gathering
attention as new methods for controlling light.

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Manipulating Light

A pattern of light obtained by spatial light modulator

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 Nature of Light

Although light plays a vital role in forming our universe, there are a lot of things we still
don’t know about it.

At certain times it behaves like a wave, at certain times like a particle.

What is nature of light? 21

The wave-particle duality of photons

In “Nature of light,” we described that light has

the properties of wave and a particle.

Young’s interference fringes 22

 The duality of photons

When light weakened to an extreme brightness limit and projected on a screen

is detected, it behaves like a particle as seen on the left. However, when the
recorded particle count increases, an interference fringe appears as seen on
the right. One can see from this that light also behaves as a wave.
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Camera and Life

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Camera and Eye

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26
Telescope and Star

Photo by Hubble Space Telescope

August 2020.

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Beyond visible

World’s largest radio

telescope built in
Guizhou, China

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 A New Look at the Crab Nebula

This image combines data from

five different telescopes: The VLA
(radio) in red; Spitzer Space
Telescope (infrared) in yellow;
Hubble Space Telescope (visible)
in green; XMM-Newton
(ultraviolet) in blue; and Chandra
X-Ray Observatory (X-ray) in
purple.

Credit: G. Dubner (IAFE, CONICET-University of

Buenos Aires) et al.
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 Black Hole Image Makes History

Using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), scientists obtained an image of the black hole at
the center of galaxy M87, outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the
influence of strong gravity near its event horizon.
Credits: Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al. 30
Chandra X-ray Observatory
close-up of the core of the
M87 galaxy.
Credits:
NASA/CXC/Villanova
University/J. Neilsen
May 9, 2019

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 Aliens on Europa ?

Europa is one of
53 confirmed
moons which
orbit Jupiter

Aliens on Europa: NASA hunts for life just 1cm under surface of Jupiter’s moon.

Europa may hold the clues to one of NASA’s

long-standing goals — to determine whether
we are alone in the universe. 32
Jupiter’s four largest satellites and the Moon

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Modern Atom Picture

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Light and Electron

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 What is Light?
What is light? What is it made of? This was actually the subject one of the most
important arguments in physics. For the longest time physicists and scientist tried to
determine if light was a wave or a particle. There were the physicists of the eighteenth
century who strongly believed that light was made of basic units , but certain properties
like refraction caused light to be reclassified as a wave. It would take no less than
Einstein to resolve the issue. Thanks to him and the work of other renowned physicists
we know more about what are photons. Quite surprisingly, however, we know nowadays
that the duality of wave and
particle is correct not only for light
but also any matters.

Light Flowing over Hong Kong

S.J. Xu Photograph

Beautiful Light and Pollution?

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Electromagnetic Spectrum

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 Geometrical Optics
Our daily experience is rather adequately described by geometrical optics.

In about 300 BC, Euclid wrote Optica, in which he studied the properties of light. Euclid
postulated that light travelled in straight lines and he described the laws of reflection
and studied them mathematically. He questioned that sight is the result of a beam from
the eye, for he asks how one sees the stars immediately, if one closes one's eyes, then
opens them at night. Of course if the beam from the eye travels infinitely fast this is not
a problem.

Euclid postulated that visual rays proceed from the eyes onto objects, and that the different
visual properties of the objects were determined by how the visual rays struck them. Here the
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red square is an actual object, while the yellow plane shows how the object is perceived.
A. Mark Smith, “From https://www.acast.c
Sight to Light: The om/newbooksinhist
Passage from Ancient ory/a-mark-smith-
to Modern Optics” (U from-sight-to-light-
of Chicago Press, 2015) the-passage-from-
ancient-to-modern-
optics-u-of-chicago-
press-2015-

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 The Law of Reflection

Water Mirror Image of a Flower

in HKU Main Campus
S.J. Xu Photography

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 The Law of Refraction
Snell's law:

The refraction of light at the surface

A water pool appears shallower
S.J. Xu Photography
of water makes ponds and swimming
pools appear shallower than they
really are. A 1m deep pond would
only appear to be 0.75 m deep when
viewed from directly above.

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 Roughness of Geometrical Optics
As we have known, geometrical optics can only be considered as a limiting case of
the wave picture insofar as we can neglect diffraction and interference.
Roughly speaking this approximation holds if the feature dimensions of obstacles or
mirrors etc. are large enough compared to the wavelength of light.
The physical nature of light has been a subject of scientific study for many centuries.

A triangular prism dispersing a

beam of white light. The longer
Sir Isaac Newton wavelengths (red) and the shorter
Christiaan Huygens
wavelengths (blue) get separated.
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 Physical Optics: Waves?
René Descartes (1596–1650) published a theory of the refraction of light in 1637.
Although Descartes was incorrect about the relative speeds, he was correct in assuming
that light behaved like a wave and in concluding that refraction could be explained by
the speed of light in different media. Descartes' theory of light is regarded as the start of
modern physical optics.

The decisive step towards a decision in favor of the wave picture was taken by Thomas
Young. He let light pass through two slits in an opaque screen
and observed the distribution of light intensity on a second
Screen.

The figure from T. Young’s original paper (T. Young, Phil. He was described as 43
Trans. Roy. Soc. 12, 387, 1802) "The Last Man Who
Knew Everything"
 Maxwell’s Electromagnetic Waves
Michael Faraday proposed in 1847 that light was a high-frequency electromagnetic
vibration, which could propagate even in the absence of a medium such as the ether.
James Clerk Maxwell concluded that light was a form of electromagnetic radiation. In 1873,
he published a full mathematical description of the behaviour of electric and magnetic
fields, known as Maxwell's equations. Soon after, Heinrich Hertz confirmed Maxwell's
theory experimentally by generating and detecting radio waves in the laboratory, and
demonstrating that these waves behaved exactly like visible light, exhibiting properties
such as reflection, refraction, diffraction, and interference.
Maxwell's theory and Hertz's experiments led directly to the development of modern
radio, radar, television, electromagnetic imaging, and wireless communications.

A 3–dimensional rendering of linearly

polarized light wave frozen in time and
showing the two oscillating components
of light; an electric field and a magnetic
field perpendicular to each other and to
the direction of motion (a transverse
wave).

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The Classic Oscillator Model of Matter
In an atom electron cloud is modeled as a spring-mass system, with attractive
electric force between nucleus and electron cloud as the spring providing the
restoring force. Thus each electron was described as an oscillator which can be
forced to make oscillatory motion under the action of the incident electromagnetic
waves (fields).
A piece of matter was assumed to be composed of such oscillators by Paul Drude
and Hendrik Lorentz.

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 E&M Radiation from Blackbody
A blackbody is an idealized physical body that can absorb all incident
electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence.
A blackbody in thermal equilibrium (that is, at a constant temperature)
emits electromagnetic radiation called blackbody radiation. The radiation is
emitted according to Planck's law, meaning that it has a spectrum that is
determined by the temperature alone (see below figure ), not by the body's
shape or composition.

As the temperature of a blackbody

decreases, its radiation intensity
also decreases and its peak moves
to longer wavelengths.

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 The Early Quantum Theory of Matter
and Light
Considering the failure of classic model in blackbody
radiation spectrum, Max Planck who was a German
theoretical physicist, he had to make a big assumption
that the radiation energy W of an oscillator can have only
discrete values. More specifically, he had to assume that
these energies are given by

where h is Planck’s constant and ν the frequency of the

oscillator.
Note: h = 6.626 × 10−34 J•s (joule-seconds) Max Planck
He was awarded the
Planck called “quanta”. Nobel Prize in Physics
Planck was widely considered to be the initial founder of in 1918.
quantum theory, which has revolutionized the way we
see and understand the sub-atomic world.
In 1900: Birth of Quantization!
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 Einstein’s Light Quantum
In 1916-1917 Einstein gave a new and wonderful derivation of Planck’s
radiation law which provides a lot of new insights. As he wrote to his friend
Michel Besso, in 1916, “A splendid light has dawned on me about the
absorption and emission of radiation”.
In order to be able to reproduce Planck’s formula Einstein had to postulate two
different emission processes: Spontaneous Emission and Stimulated Emission.

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 Quantum Particles of Light: Photons
In 1926 the optical physicist Frithiof Wolfers and the chemist Gilbert N. Lewis coined
the name photon for quantum particles of light.
The energy and momentum of a photon depend only on its frequency (ν) or inversely,
its wavelength (λ):
E = hν = hc/λ
P = hν/c =h/λ
A photon is massless (i.e., no rest mass), has no electric charge, and is a stable
particle. A photon has two possible polarization states.

The cone
shows possible
values of wave
4-vector of a
photon.

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 When Was the First Light in the
Universe?
Now we know that light travels a mere 300,000 kilometers per second in space. But a
basic question is when was the first light in the universe.
According to the Big Bang Theory, at beginning the entire Universe was just a soup of
protons, neutrons and electrons, with nothing holding them together.

In fact, once it expanded

and cooled down a bit,
the entire Universe was
merely as hot and as
dense as the core of a star
like our Sun. It was cool
enough for ionized atoms
of hydrogen to form.

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Because the Universe has the conditions of the core of a star, it had the temperature
and pressure to actually fuse hydrogen into helium and other heavier elements.
The ratio of those light elements we see in the Universe today: 74% hydrogen, 25%
helium and 1% miscellaneous.
The fusion process generates photons of gamma radiation.
This was the moment of first light in the Universe, between 240,000 and 300,000 years
after the Big Bang, known as the Era of Recombination.
The first time that photons could rest for a second, attached as electrons to atoms.
It was at this point that the Universe went from being totally opaque, to transparent.

Left: Artist’s concept of

the first stars in the
Universe turning on some
200 million years after
the Big Bang. These first
suns were made of
almost pure hydrogen
and helium.
https://www.universetoday.com/131
809/first-light-universe/
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 The Cosmic Microwave Background
Because the Universe has been expanding over the 13.8 billion years from then
until now, those earliest photons were stretched out, or red-shifted, from
ultraviolet and visible light into the microwave end of the spectrum.

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is thermal radiation that fills the universe and
can be detected in every direction. Microwaves are invisible to the naked eye, but they can
Be detected with instruments. Created shortly after the universe came into being in the Big
Bang, the CMB represents the earliest radiation that can be detected. Astronomers have
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linked the CMB to seeing sunlight penetrating an overcast sky.
 The International Year of Light-2015

With endorsement by the UNESCO Executive

A resolution has been adopted
Board in November 2012, leading scientists
at the United Nations General
were invited to present the case for an
Assembly, and so 2015 will be
International Year of Light at the United
the International Year of Light.
Nations General Assembly in May 2013.

The Proclamation of an International Year of

Light will ensure the importance of light and its
potential applications are appreciated by all. 53
 2015 Celebrates Major Anniversaries

1015 Ibn Al Haythem Book of Optics

1815 Fresnel and the wave nature of light

1865 Maxwell and electromagnetic waves

1915 General relativity – light in space and time

1965 Cosmic microwave background, Charles Kao

and optical fiber technology

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Broad Activities of Light - Science…
Origin of Life

Healthcare

Communications &
Internet

Optical Instruments

The Universe 55
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Bohr’s Light and Life

Niels Bohr in 1922

Topics covered include: life origin and

evolution, quantum mechanics and life,
brain and mind, consciousness and free
will, and light as a tool for biology

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 The Sunlight
Nuclear fusion deep within the Sun releases a
tremendous amount of energy. Of the 3.8 × 1033 All matter with a temperature
ergs emitted by the Sun every second, about 1 above absolute zero emits
part in 120 million is received by its attendant thermal radiation. The hotter
planets and their satellites. The small part of this the substance, the more
energy intercepted by Earth (the solar constant, radiation it emits and the
on average 1.4 kilowatts per square meter) is of shorter the average
enormous importance to life and to the wavelength of the radiation
maintenance of natural processes on Earth’s emitted.
surface.

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 Photosynthesis Effect
• Autotrophic Process: Plants and plant-like
organisms make their energy (glucose) from
sunlight.
• Stored as carbohydrate in their bodies.
• 6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight  C6H12O6 + 6O2

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Why is Photosynthesis So Important?
Makes organic molecules (glucose) out
of inorganic materials (carbon dioxide
and water).
It begins all food chains/webs. Thus
all life is supported by this process.
It also makes oxygen gas!!

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 Man Made Beautiful Light Sources: Laser

• The term “LASER" is an acronym for Laser in a research lab

Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation.

• Laser light is spatially coherent: either

emitted in a narrow, low-divergence
beam, or can be converted into one
with the help of lenses.

• Lasers are emitting light with a narrow

monochromatic wavelength spectrum.

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 Three Key Components of Laser

1. Laser medium
2. Laser pumping energy
3. Resonator cavity

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Laser at 60 years

16 May 1960: the first working optical

laser at Hughes Research Laboratories by
Theodore H. Maiman.

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 Moving Matter with Light without
Touching ??? Johannes Kepler

To explain why tails of comets always point away from the Sun,
Kepler suggested that the Sun was exerting a sort of radiant pressure.
This led him in 1609 to propose sailing from the Earth to the Moon
on light itself. This was and still is the stuff of science fiction.
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Shaping Matter with Light
Artificial Compound Eyes

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Solid State Lighting Revolution

Warm White-LED Demonstration

using KSF:Mn4+ as the red element in F. Tang, et al., J. Mater. Chem. C
4, 9561, 2016.
the device
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 Highlighting Impact on Development
Light technology is at the heart of the
Internet and communications

Raising awareness of disparities in

information access is essential for
future development of society
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Light Has an Inclusive Identity for all!

Origin of Life Flags Colour

Sustainability International Spectrum, Science
Culture Inclusive Art and Culture
Universal Education

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 Opportunity for the Future
The Proclamation of an International Year of Light is a tremendous opportunity to
coordinate international activities and promote new initiatives to support the
revolutionary potential of light technologies.

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 Conclusions
Why light and optics?
Light is central to science, technology, art and culture
Light can promote education at all levels
Light technology drives development

The 21st century is the Century of Light !!

(as electrons did in the 20th century)

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