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QuantumBrick
QuantumBrick
18:57
@ChrisW In fact, both the electron and the photon are waves in scattering (the even that knocks the electron off an atom due to radiation). For that you have scattering amplitudes, calculated via quantum mechanics. The thing is that quantum mechanics is not a relativistic theory - that is, it can only describe quantum particles with speeds much smaller than light's "c"... So we needed to change the theory in order to accommodate it within special relativity, and the result is what we call...
... quantum field theory. In it, we have the photon being described as a quanta of this underlying field (the quantized electromagnetic field): it is not particle nor wave, but an excitation of the field. In fact, it is the most important excitation in the theory of quantum electrodynamics, because it is a boson - the particle responsible for the interactions of this field.

Just a digression. Nothing to do with buddhism =)
As an on-topic response, I've read a lot about Buddhadasa Bikkhu and Maha Nikaya. It is definitely the branch of Buddhism that makes more sense to me: everything is taken with a grain of salt and considered non-literally. Branches like the Thai Forest Tradition are the ones that most drastically oppose my views. I'm glad to say there is a worked, finished, established school that doesn't hurt my scientific preferences. =)

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