When light behaves like a wave:
* Diffraction: Light bends around obstacles, creating interference patterns.
* Interference: Two light waves interact, creating areas of constructive and destructive interference, resulting in light and dark bands.
* Polarization: Light waves oscillate in a specific direction, which can be filtered.
* Doppler Effect: The frequency of light changes depending on the relative motion of the source and observer, similar to sound waves.
When light behaves like a particle:
* Photoelectric effect: Light striking a metal surface can eject electrons, with the energy of the ejected electrons depending on the frequency of the light.
* Compton scattering: X-rays scattering off electrons behave like particles colliding, causing a shift in wavelength.
* Blackbody radiation: Hot objects emit light in a continuous spectrum, but the intensity and frequency of the emitted light can be explained by assuming light is quantized into packets called photons.
Important Note: Wave-particle duality isn't a matter of light "choosing" to be a wave or a particle. Both aspects are fundamental to the nature of light. The behavior we observe depends on the type of experiment and the interaction we're looking at.
In summary, light doesn't switch between being a wave and a particle. It simultaneously exhibits both properties, and the specific manifestation we observe depends on the experimental setup and the interactions involved.
