Question

What is the relationship between wavelength, frequency, and energy of a photon?

Answer 1

The photon model equation relates the frequency and energy of a photon together by a constant of proportionality, where `E\proptof=>E=hf`, where:

• `E` is the energy of the photon (`J`)
• `f` is the frequency of the photon (`s^(-1)`)
• `h` is Plank's constant (`~~6.63*10^(-34)Js`)

The frequency and wavelength of light are also related by the wave equation where `v=f\lamda`, or for EM radiation `c=f\lamda`, where:

• `c` is the speed of light (`~~3.00*10^8ms^(-1)`)
• `f` is the frequency of the light (`s^(-1)`)
• `\lamda` is the wavelength of the light (`m`)

By rearranging to get `f=c/\lamda`, we can rewrite the photon model equation to get `E=(hc)/\lamda`.