photon
a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, usually considered as an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle and that has zero rest mass and charge and a spin of one. Symbol: γ
Origin of photon
1- Also called light quantum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use photon in a sentence
However, photons are electrically neutral, so their influence on each other is minimal under ordinary circumstances.
The tremendous speed of these individual photons is what makes the material so hard.
The Black Star Passes | John W CampbellIn that distant past, a handful of photons deep in the interior of Sol began their random journey to the photosphere.
Out Like a Light | Gordon Randall GarrettIt is made of cosmic ray photons, as lux is made of light photons, but the inexpressibly tighter bond makes the strength enormous.
Invaders from the Infinite | John Wood CampbellThe new idea here is that the photons will attract each other ever more and more powerfully, the closer they get.
The Black Star Passes | John W Campbell
That is, the light condenser, the device that stored the photons so close to each other, would also serve to urge them apart.
The Black Star Passes | John W Campbell
British Dictionary definitions for photon
/ (ˈfəʊtɒn) /
a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, regarded as a particle with zero rest mass and charge, unit spin, and energy equal to the product of the frequency of the radiation and the Planck constant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for photon
[ fō′tŏn′ ]
The subatomic particle that carries the electromagnetic force and is the quantum of electromagnetic radiation. The photon has a rest mass of zero, but has measurable momentum, exhibits deflection by a gravitational field, and can exert a force. It has no electric charge, has an indefinitely long lifetime, and is its own antiparticle. See Note at electromagnetic radiation. See Table at subatomic particle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for photon
[ (foh-ton) ]
The quantum, or bundle of energy, in which light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are emitted. (See atom.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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