Particle or Wave

The question, "Is an EM fields a wave disturbance or a barrage of particles?" has not at all been systematically and entirely answered. There is a relationship, however, among frequency, photon energy, & wavelength.

ENERGY, FREQUENCY, AND WAVELENGTH:

The energy enclosed in a single photon of EM energy can be found in terms of the frequency by the formula as follows:

e = hf

here e is the energy (in joules) enclosed in a photon, f is the frequency of the EM wave disturbance (in hertz), and h is a constant termed as Planck's constant, approximately equivalent to 6.6262 x 10^-34.

When the wavelength λ (in meters) is known and c is the propagation speed of the EM disturbance (in meters per second), then

e = hc/λ

This can be reorganized to determine the wavelength of a photon in terms of the energy it holds:

λ = hc/e

For EM rays in free space, the product hc is around equivalent to 1.9865 x 10^-25 since c is around equivalent to 2.99792 x 10⁸ m/s.

PROBLEM:

Determine the energy contained in a photon of visible light whose wavelength is of 550 nm in free space?

SOLUTION:

At first, convert 550 nm into meters; 550 nm = 550 x 10^-9 m = 5.50 x 10^-7 m.

Then by using the formula for energy in terms of the wavelength:

e = hc/λ

  = (1.9865 x 10^-25) / (5.50 x 10^-7)

  = 3.61 x 10^-19 J