The unbearable lightness of light

Does light behave as waves or particles?

Both. Earlier this afternoon, I was reminded of light’s dualism in physics when I was mindlessly discussing the properties of light, when returning to colourful Truro at night. Both.

When I first learned about this amazing fact I was astonished. I remember we were shown the double-slit experiment (or rather something that looks like it). I also remember hearing countless explanations what was going on when light encounters objects. Alfons gave the best explanation, I’ve ever heard: wave or particle, it depends in what aspect (or context) you’re experimenting with [but then, Alfons has a real knack for quantum physics].

Going back to those years, I remember doing an experiment together with the bro, shooting light through different coloured filters. The worst part is I can’t remember what we were hunting or looking for. It was spectacular though: I’d never thought putting a simple red (or other) coloured glass would change my ideas about light. The teacher gave us straight A-s too, which was nice naturally too.

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