2

Given that any periodic electromagnetic emission has a wavelength due to its time related oscillation and a finite speed of propagation, is it the same for atomic/electron phenomena, such as the emission of photon by an electron jumping to a different level of energy and/or desintegration of pairs of particles?

i.e. is it assumed those process are instantaneous or slower? And if they are not instantaneous, how can they still be quantized? I mean, I would suppose a non-instantaneous process can be interrupted.

Does the quantization of energy imply an infinitesimal delay or an infinite speed of »manufacturing» for photon generation?

Winston
  • 3,226
  • Electronic transitions in atoms are atomic rather than nuclear phenomena. I think this language requires some prior research - as now it is rather confused. Also, it is worth looking for electronic transitions and lifetime on this site - these points have been already discussed from different angles. – Roger V. Jul 12 '21 at 15:05
  • @anna v: Thanks for complaining about terminology. Maybe you could also try to focus on the real matter at hand. What does it change if electronic transitions are this or that? The problem remains. – Winston Jul 12 '21 at 17:31
  • @Roger Vadim: I am talking about phenomenon where photons are produced. – Winston Jul 12 '21 at 17:33
  • the question has changed by editing and I am removing my comment – anna v Jul 12 '21 at 18:43
  • Would someone like to comment about ultra low frequency EM radiation, of a few hertz, and the creation of individual photons associated with such radiation? – Marco Ocram Jul 12 '21 at 20:47
  • You are right. The radio waves arising from a common propagation of electrons and limited by their free path on the surface of an antenna rod. The emitted this time photons are not of the wavelength of the radio wave. The emission from excited inside the atoms electrons is limited to infrared and microwaves. From a technical view radio waves are part of the EM spectrum, from a physical view it is a disaster. – HolgerFiedler Jul 14 '21 at 03:44
  • If you see a grain of sense in this, I would make an effort to answer your question. – HolgerFiedler Jul 14 '21 at 03:46

1 Answers1

0

Is the duration of atomic/electron phenomena proportional to the wavelength of photons produced by those phenomena?

The wavelength of the photon is inversly proportional to its energy, E=hν=hc/λ , the functional relation is not proportionality but depends on the quantum mechanical solutions of the particular phenomenon.

You ask:

Given that any periodic electromagnetic emission has a wavelength due to its time related oscillation and a finite speed of propagation, is it the same for atomic/electron phenomena, such as the emission of photon by an electron jumping to a different level of energy

The photon is not an electromagnetic wave, it is an elementary particle with zero mass and the way it interacts with an atom depends on the quantum mechanical solutions for the particular atom. The orbitals of the electrons about the atom have different energy levels and thus different energy photons can interact with the atom, and the energy line has a width, which determines the time constants for the interaction, different for different atoms and energy levels, see for hydrogen as anexample.

and/or desintegration of pairs of particles?

In general the particle lifetimes are associated through the uncertainty principle with the width of the interaction. These are different for different interactions, ( strong, weak , electromagnetic) scatterings or decays, depending on the particle charachteristics.

anna v
  • 233,453
  • Thanks for the effort but this is not what I am asking. I am asking about the proportionality between the duration of processes that resulting photon emission and the resulting photons. – Winston Jul 12 '21 at 22:35
  • And I am answering that the only functional relation (proportionality is a functional relation) between the duration of a process and the resulting photons goes through complicated functions defined by the quantum mechanics of the process and depends on the individual process. – anna v Jul 13 '21 at 03:49