• Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    and in convection, at what point are photons being exchanged?

    How about in conduction?

    I’m pretty sure both of those are just ripples of heat in atoms & molecules spreading to nearby atoms & molecules via more nano-mechanical means, with the former case having that amplified by the fact the atoms & molecules are in motion at a larger scale.

    Loosely couple two identical oscillators and excite one, and the second will move as well, no photons needed. At a nano scale, that is how conduction works. And again, convection adds to that the fact that the oscillators can freely move around each other

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Loosely couple two identical oscillators and excite one, and the second will move as well, no photons needed.

      At the atomic level, nothing physically touches. Electrons do not physically touch each other to transfer momentum. When two atoms get close, the electromagnetic field pushes the electrons away from each other before the electrons touch.

      The electromagnetic field is made of photons.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon