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7eggert t1_j9og1oc wrote

Reply to comment by jmwing in What does it mean for light to be an excitation in the electromagnetic field? by Ethan-Wakefield

I don't know what an "excitation" is. When I try to think about it, the first thing is a la ola wave at a soccer game - excited people.

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Beemerba t1_j9opt4w wrote

When you hit an atom with a burst of energy, it causes electrons to move from an orbit close to the nucleus, to an orbit slightly further from the nucleus (excitation). When that induced energy is removed, the electron "sinks" back to the original orbit and emits a "particle" of light.

At least that's how I learned it quite a few years back!

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