Evolution of the modern photon

Abstract

The term ‘‘photon’’ represents at least four distinct models and carries different connotations for students and for practicing physicists. This reflects the long and complex historical evolution of the concept and its association with the largely misinterpreted principle of duality. The unsatisfactory nature of the corpuscular and wave packet models is discussed, and the pedagogical desirability urged of replacing them with a semiclassical approach in elementary presentations. Derivations of the photoelectric (PE) effect without photons are cited and a vector analysis is given, demonstrating that the PE effect cannot be considered as simply the interaction of a photon and electron.