photon: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 22, 2026

News •

A new way to detect stabilizing properties of optical devices • Oct. 18, 2026, 2:00 PM ET (Phys.org)

Facts

Also Known As	light quantum

Photos and Videos

A diagram showing an X-ray photon colliding with an electron, causing the electron to scatter and the photon to emerge with a longer wavelength, illustrating the Compton effect.

Learn about a virtual slow-motion camera that can capture photons or light particles moving through space which may be useful in medical imaging, in industrial or scientific use or even in consumer photography

Discover how a laser beam emits light

Benefits and dangers of pine resin to ants

A palette smeared with different colors of paint sits on top of multicolored paint swatches arranged in an arch.

Understand the concept of teleportation and how quantum mechanics makes photon teleportation possible

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

photino graviton subatomic particle light boson colour lepton gluon hadron intermediate vector boson quark CP violation blue light symmetry Sunlight

Key People

Portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Albert Einstein

German-American physicist

Arthur Holly Compton

Arthur Holly Compton

American physicist

Serge Haroche.

Serge Haroche

French physicist

Glauber, Roy J.

Roy J. Glauber

American physicist

default image

Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor

British physicist