Teaching Different Aspects of Light in the Unified Framework of Quantum Mechanics

ARLEGO MARCELO; FANARO MARIA DE LOS ANGELES; OTERO MARIA RITA

Estambul

Congreso; THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON PHYSICS EDUCATION; 2012

In this work we present an analysis of various aspects of light in a unified and nontraditional framework. This will be the starting point of a methodological approach to the subject in Secondary School. First we start by showing a set of experimental results where light exhibits particle-like characteristics in certain cases and wavelike behavior in others. We then present experiments where light shows a ?special? character that cannot be completely associated with either waves or particles, and without analog in macroscopic world, called ?quantum behaviour?. In the second part of the work we show how to describe these different aspects of light from a single formulation: The quantum theory of light. To this end we adapt Feynman?s path integrals formulation. Our approach emphasizes the conceptual aspects, reducing mathematical content to the use of vectors.