Sunlight comes from the Sun’s fusion reaction and arrives continuously on Earth. This article uses critical thinking to show that sunlight has one frequency of light that gives us visual information about the color and shape of everything. We will realize that sunlight does not consist of various colors that can change into a rainbow. The different colors come from electrons in air molecules on which the sunlight lands.
In addition, the light emitted from an electron has a frequency that matches the atoms in the material. Light is the carrier of electromagnetic energy, which consists of different frequencies depending on the quantum frequency of atoms, molecules, and their electrons. Using frequencies is a revolutionary way to explain the physics of color. The frequency of light emitted from an object comes from the electrons in the material. Then, the “electronic” light enters our eyes, and the brain interprets the frequencies into colors and shapes.
Some Historical Experiments
When we base science only on what we see, it causes inaccuracies. For instance, we saw the sun and stars moving across the sky, so we thought the Earth was the center of the universe, and everything was orbiting around us. We see that the time on clocks changes in specific environments, so we think time is relative instead of knowing that clocks are inaccurate tools. We see objects falling at different speeds, so we believe gravity depends on the size of objects. The starlight seems to bend around the sun, so we think space is curved.
We see rainbows, so we believe sunlight contains many colors instead of one frequency. If we rely only on what we see with our eyes, we may be fooled with misinformation. In 1801, Young’s experiment attempted to show that light behaves in constructive and destructive interference patterns, such as water waves. The result was used as observable proof that light is a wave until Einstein proved that light is made of particles called photons. Then, they started to say light displays a wave or particle nature depending on the circumstances.
A New Definition of Light
For science to evolve, we need a new definition of light. In this article, we show that photons are quantum packets of energy. Instead, scientists claim that photons are massless particles that act as particles or waves depending on the circumstances.
Photons are not particles or waves. Photons are the smallest forms of energy. E=mc^2. Energy has the equivalence of mass, but a photon's energy is too tiny to be measured as having mass. Moreover, photons are never at rest. To say photons are massless is not entirely accurate. The energy of a photon is its frequency times the Planck's constant. E = hf, and is equivalent to the mass.
To understand the electromagnetic spectrum, we must showcase it using frequencies instead of wavelengths. Objects' colors are currently described in wavelengths, easily demonstrated in drawings. However, a photon’s energy varies by its frequency, and the frequency determines its color.
The wavelength determines only the optical properties of photons. The fundamental way we are fooled is by explaining visible light by their wavelengths into "colors" of light.
Sunlight has a frequency of 750 terahertz and interacts with electrons in matter, sending “electronic light” to our eyes. Electronic light is light that comes from the electrons in matter.
Photons are Quantum Energy Packets.
Visible Light has many different frequencies, as shown in the wavelength spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. The color cones in the eyes of all insects, animals, and humans see frequencies of light, not wavelengths of color. A photon travels as an electromagnetic field with a frequency and wavelength. The energy of a photon depends upon the frequency, while the wavelength is calculated from the frequency. Take it a step further, and the energy of a photon is different from the electromagnetic field, which gives it motion. The energy is the Planck Constant times the frequency. E = hf. However, white light has a frequency of 750 terahertz, yet it isn't showcased in the EM spectrum of visible light. Isn't that interesting? That's why they say white isn't a color.
Does Rayleigh Scattering Cause Blue Skies?
Rayleigh scattering refers to the scattering of blue light from the air molecules, giving us a blue sky. In 1871, Lord Rayleigh published about the interaction of different wavelengths of light with matter. Sunlight doesn’t have a color, but it has the frequency of white light. The explanation of Rayleigh scattering to produce blue skies is misleading. Instead, the electrons in the molecules of the atmosphere emit photon frequencies that appear blue in the eyes of observers.
The science of spectroscopy measures the frequency of electrons in objects to describe the molecules composing a material. Air molecules in the atmosphere contain water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon molecules. Electrons orbiting these gases have the same frequency as the molecules. When sunlight hits the electrons in these molecules, they emit frequencies of light, making the sky look blue. The combination of various molecules determines the shade of a blue sky.
Each area or country has different shades of blue due to various amounts of these gases, particularly the moisture content. So why does a pond, lake, river, and ocean look blue? The surface of the water is like a mirror, reflecting the light in the sky to our eyes. If the water has ripples or waves, the mirror image is broken up, and if the sky is cloudy or overcast, the water’s surface is shades of grey.
At sunset, the frequencies of reds and yellows occur when sunlight enters dust particles and pollution in the lower atmosphere. The electrons in dust emit lower frequencies of yellows and oranges. Moreover, the longer distance light travels through the atmosphere at sunrise and sunset is a factor. Some materials that allow the transmission of visible light are called optically transparent. Chemically pure glass and pure water are examples.
Visible Light at Home
When you turn on the light switch at home, the “white” light strikes everything in the room. The frequency of the "white" light causes all the surface electrons of the molecules to react and expand their energy fields. As the electron fields return to their original states, they emit photons with the frequency of the molecules. The emitted photons are "electronic" photons with a frequency that the electrons gave them.
The photons from every object in the room emit different frequencies that enter our eyes. Then, the brain interprets the color, intensity, and hue of everything we see as frames of frequencies in motion, like a video camera. The process inside us is fantastic, giving us our vision.
Scientists think white light consists of hundreds of possible colors that objects absorb, and the reflected light from an object has color, hue, and intensity information. Instead, the information of objects is in the frequency of light emitted by the surface electrons.
However, the frequencies of light don't mix except in our visual cortex. Light is invisible until it lands on a surface, and our eyes interpret the color information. If light were visible, the night sky would appear as daylight.
Reflected light from a shiny surface is visible as the light source, not the reflecting surface's color. Electrons emit photons, and the color information comes from the photon's frequency. Einstein's photoelectric effect proves that the frequency of the EM spectrum carries the energy. The wavelength of light can be calculated into the frequency, but the frequency causes the action.
Electrons have the same frequency as the molecules they are bound to. If a force causes an electron to change orbits, it emits a photon as it returns to its original state. The energy between orbitals is equal to the Plank Constant, and the energy of a photon is its frequency times the Plank constant.
Consider that the electromagnetic field of an electron has the same quanta of energy as a photon. Thus, the electron may not always change energy orbitals. Instead, they instantly exchange information and emit a photon with the same frequency as the object’s molecules. In that case, it's not a “reflected” photon. It's an information-exchanged photon.
However, if the frequency of white light has enough energy amplitude, the electron’s energy field expands, contracts, and emits a photon with the electron's frequency. Electrons constantly oscillate and radiate photon energy as long as light is present, allowing us to see the world. This changes what we know about light and energy and how they interact.
Part two is next week. I'm grateful to have my tribe of followers. To join, sign up for my free newsletter, which will be delivered to your inbox. I hope all is well with you. With love, Erik.