Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert TG
"In principle, could the time delay between the emission and absorption of a single photon in vacuum be measured?"
I'm sure I'm missing the point of your question here. I'm curious, could you please explain.
Are you simply talking about measuring the speed of light?
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Glad to.
The question relates to a radical idea of light put forward by a group known as POAMS. I put forward a counter argument that involved the possibility of being able to measure the time of flight of a single photon in vacuum, a notion that I considered would question their basic stance. They insisted that such a measurement (even an approximate one) involving just one photon would be impossible to achieve because of the uncertainty principle. At the time I was unsure about this and I could find no information regarding any such measurement as having taken place, so I could not follow my argument through.
In the wake of the "amplitude of a photon" thread I thought it would be an opportune time to ask the question here, and the answer given is much what I though should be the case, although I had the uncertainty concept a little confused.
So, to answer your question, I am not simply talking about measuring the speed of light, I am specifically questioning what we can and cannot know regarding the time of flight of a single photon in vacuum between a source and sink. And given
Ken's answer, I am now armed to resurrect my original argument with POAMS.
