Matthew R. FrancisRobert Gilmore
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Science and the Photon
It was Albert Einstein who first theorized that the energy in a light beam exists in small bits or particles, and scientists today know that light sometimes behaves like a wave (somewhat like sound or water) and sometimes like a stream of particles. The energies of photons range from high-energy gamma rays and X-rays down to low-energy infrared and radio waves, though all travel at the same speed. The amazing power of lasers is the result of a concentration of photons that have been made to travel together in order to hit their target at the same time.
Examples of photon in a Sentence
Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 3 Apr. 2026
If a photon and the OMG particle had been in a race since the universe first formed, the particle now would only be about 600 meters behind.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2026
But massive photons in de Sitter space could spontaneously decay into matter — which could then decay back into light again.
—Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
In a clinical linac, X-ray photons are produced by dumping high-energy electrons into a bremsstrahlung target, which is made of a material with a high atomic number, like tungsten or copper.
—IEEE Spectrum, 6 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Photon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/photon. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
photon
noun
Medical Definition
photon
noun
called also troland
