Can You See a Photon Beam Between Two Reflective Surfaces?

In summary, if you have two 100% efficient reflective surfaces parallel to each other and manage to place photons at a 90° angle of incidence, a beam of visible light will stay there as long as there is no interaction. However, if the beam is perpendicular to the reflective surfaces and only traveling on the sagittal plane relative to you, you would not be able to see it.
  • #1
Raiden60
8
2
Let's say you have 2 100% efficient reflective surfaces exactly parallel to each other. If you theoretically managed to place photons at exactly 90° angle of incidence. So this beam of visible light (and I want to stress that) is going to stay there as long as there is no interaction, the beam will stay there, right? What I want to know is if you could see this beam. If it exactly perpendicular to the reflective surfaces, and the light is only traveling on the sagittal plane relative to you, would you even be able to see it? Or could you see right through it?
 
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  • #2
Raiden60 said:
would you even be able to see it?
No.
 

Related to Can You See a Photon Beam Between Two Reflective Surfaces?

1. What is a photon beam?

A photon beam is a stream of photons, which are the fundamental particles of light. These particles travel at the speed of light and carry energy.

2. Can photons be seen with the naked eye?

No, photons cannot be seen with the naked eye as they are much smaller than the wavelengths of visible light. They can only be detected using specialized equipment.

3. How are photon beams created?

Photon beams can be created through a variety of methods, such as using lasers or through natural processes like radioactive decay. In the case of this experiment, the photon beam is created by reflecting light between two surfaces.

4. Why are two reflective surfaces necessary to see a photon beam?

Two reflective surfaces are necessary to see a photon beam because the photons need to bounce back and forth between the surfaces multiple times in order to create a visible beam.

5. What factors affect the visibility of a photon beam between two reflective surfaces?

The visibility of a photon beam between two reflective surfaces can be affected by various factors such as the angle and distance between the surfaces, the intensity and wavelength of the light source, and any obstacles or particles that may interfere with the beam.

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