Friday, May 15, 2015

How many photons are produced in a laser pulse of 0.401 J at 555 nm?

This question refers to a laser pulse, or electromagnetic radiation, with the wavelength of lambda= 555 nm ( 1 nanometer = 10^(-9) meter).
According to the quantum, or particle, theory of light, a laser pulse is an emission of a number of massless particles called photons. Each photon has the energy equal to
E = hf , where h is the Planck's constant:
h = 6.626*10^(-34) J*s
 f is the frequency of the photon, or corresponding electromagnetic wave. The frequency and the wavelength are related as
f = c/lambda , where c is the speed of light: c= 3*10^8 m/s .
(Please see the "Planck's hypothesis" section of the reference website cited below.)
Then, if the pulse consists of N photons, its total energy would be 
NE=Nhc/lambda .
Then, for the pulse with the given wavelength and energy, we have
NE = 0.401 J = N*6.626*10^(-34)J*s *((3*10^8) m/s)/(555*10^(-9) m)
From here,
N = 3.36*10^18 .
Approximately 3.36*10^18 photons are produced in the given laser pulse.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod2.html

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