If sound waves travel by pushing particles back and forth, then how exactly do electromagnetic/radio waves travel through the vacuum of space and dense matter? Are they emitting… stuff? Or is there some… stuff even in the empty space that they push?
In: Physics
You know that globe we put on your desk so you wouldn’t fail geography? It’s a great model of the earth, isn’t it. But the fact that it’s a great model doesn’t mean the earth is made of polypropylene and made in China.
Waves and particles are good *models* of light and are really really useful at predicting the behaviour of light.
But what *is* light?
Light is a charged particle over *here*, usually an electron, moving in a way that it loses energy. And then after a time delay, another charged particle, again usually an electron over *there* gains energy and moves in response.
That’s it. That’s all that *actually* exists.
Waves and particles are just models. They are useful for predicting what electron over *there* will wiggle, how it’ll wiggle, and when it will wiggle in response to the electron over *here*. But that’s it. Don’t get caught up in ascribing aspects like physicality to photons. You cannot *have* a jar of photons. They don’t really *exist* like that.
Similarly, some behaviour of *sound* – which is most definitely a wave with a real physical presence – has some behaviours in semiconductors that are particle like. So a particle called a ‘phonon’ was described as a ‘particle of sound’ that is great for predicting the behaviour. But you can’t have a jar of phonons any more than you can have a jar of photons.
So try not to get too hung up on it. Electron A wiggles. Electron B wiggles. Energy is transferred from A to B. The rest is just polypropylene and made in China.
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