What determines if a photon is absorbed?

[Jarfi]

Say it has xnm wavelenght. It hits an atom that reflects it, then another different atom absorbs it, why?

Also what determines if particles like free neutrons or some hadrons will absorb a particular wavelenght?


Why does gold absorb all wavelength except yellow and why does it also seem to reflect a small portion of the light(shine).

Is the interactiom of photons with atoms and elemental particles well understood and explaind... with some laws. I've tried reading some electrodynamics but haven't gotten as far to see if a photon copulates with a particle or not or why it would.

 

[mfb]

Quantum mechanics. Depending on your favorite interpretation:
- It does not have any deeper reason and happens randomly.
- Both processes happen.
- It depends on (fundamentally unknown) internal states of the particles.

Why does gold absorb all wavelength except yellow and why does it also seem to reflect a small portion of the light(shine).

That is the result of the band structure - gold is a good reflector for most visible light by the way, as most metals.

Is the interactiom of photons with atoms and elemental particles well understood and explaind... with some laws.

It is, the laws are called quantum mechanics.

 

[Jarfi]

Quantum mechanics. Depending on your favorite interpretation:
- It does not have any deeper reason and happens randomly.
- Both processes happen.
- It depends on (fundamentally unknown) internal states of the particles.
That is the result of the band structure - gold is a good reflector for most visible light by the way, as most metals.
It is, the laws are called quantum mechanics.

So basically its mostly quantum mechanical equations... and the explainaition is "this equation says that this light is most likely to be reflected"

 

[mfb]

So basically its mostly quantum mechanical equations... and the explainaition is "this equation says that this light is most likely to be reflected"

Right.

 

[sardar]

The absorption of a photon is determined by the energy of the photon and the energy levels of the atoms it interacts with. When a photon with a specific wavelength (xnm) interacts with an atom, it can either be reflected or absorbed. The probability of reflection or absorption depends on the energy levels of the atom's electrons. If the energy of the photon matches the energy needed to excite an electron to a higher energy level, the photon will be absorbed. If the energy of the photon does not match any energy level, it will be reflected.

The same principle applies to free neutrons and hadrons. These particles have their own energy levels and can only absorb photons with energies that match these levels. This is determined by the quantum nature of these particles and their energy states.

Gold has a unique electronic structure that allows it to absorb all wavelengths except for yellow. This is due to the fact that the energy of yellow light does not match any of the energy levels in gold's electrons. As for the reflection of light, this is due to the surface properties of gold, which can reflect a small portion of light even if it does not match the energy levels of its electrons.

The interaction of photons with atoms and elemental particles is well understood and explained by quantum mechanics. There are laws and equations that describe the behavior of photons and particles at the quantum level. However, the concept of "copulating" with particles is not applicable in this context. Photons and particles interact through various mechanisms, such as absorption, emission, and scattering, which are all described by the laws of quantum mechanics.