photon
noun/ˈfəʊtɒn/
Etymology From photo- + -on. Coined by American physicist Leonard Troland in 1916 as a unit of light hitting the retina, and later popularized in a more modern sense by Gilbert N. Lewis, with the term gaining acceptance in the physics community by the late 1920s.
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Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Particle The quantum of light and other electromagnetic energy, regarded as a discrete particle having zero rest mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime. It is a gauge boson.
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
- Derived terms
- antiphoton, biophoton, biphoton, diphoton, dual photon absorptiometry, graviphoton, last photon orbit, monophoton, multiphoton, notoph, photino, photon belt, photon circle, photonic, photonics, photon mapping, photon sail, photon sphere, photon tunnelling, proto-photon, soft photon, super-photon, superphoton, triphoton