Lesson 7.1 QUANTUM THEORY OF LIGHT Form 5 KSSM #1

Einstein's quantum theory of light highlighted that light is a composition of small packets of energy which are called photons and have wave-like properties. In this theory, Albert Einstein also explained the process of emission of electrons from metals which are struck by lightning. For example, a photon is a single quantum of light (or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation). ... Similarly, the energy of an electron bound within an atom is quantized and can exist only in certain discrete values. Quantum is the Latin word for amount and, in modern understanding, means the smallest possible discrete unit of any physical property, such as energy or matter. Quantum came into the latter usage in 1900, when the physicist Max Planck used it in a presentation to the German Physical Society. Wave-Particle Duality of Light. Quantum theory tells us that both light and matter consists of tiny particles which have wavelike properties associated with them. Light is composed of particles called photons, and matter is composed of particles called electrons, protons, neutrons.