How does fire emit light (the sun, a candle, a fire, etc.)?
In: Physics
Think of electrons like they are cars moving down the highway, and photons (light) like a signal drivers use when they are switching to a slower lane. The slower cars are on the right, and the faster cars are on the left (in America under ideal driving conditions). As slow cars get more energy, they go faster and switch to the next lane over to their left. They can also lose energy, slowing down in the process, but when they do this, they use their signal and emit light.
Now, think of a light bulb while thinking about these cars. You turn on the switch and electricity moves through the light bulb, giving those cars (electrons) lots of energy. Those cars move over into the left lanes because they are going really fast now, but they don’t want to stay there. So, the cars move back over a lane, using their signal (the electron emits a photon) each time they do this. So long as there is electricity powering that light bulb, these cars (electrons) will keep changing how fast they’re going and using their signal, “creating” light.
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