Tuesday, 10 July 2018

photons - Is the electromagnetic spectrum discrete?


I'm just starting to learn physics and I have a question (that is probably stupid.)



I learned that energy levels that the bound electron can have are discrete. I also learned that when an electron transitions from one level to another, a photon with a specific wavelength (energy) is created and released into the wild.


My question is this: are there holes in the electromagnetic spectrum, values of frequency that the created photon can't possibly have?



Answer



No, there aren't any holes like that in the EM spectrum.


There are other ways of creating photons than by having electrons bound in atoms transition from one level to another. (For example, you can create pretty much any frequency of photon you want by accelerating a free electron.)


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