Numerical Relationship
between
 wavelength and photon energy
• Inverse relationship:  Smaller means more energetic
– c = speed of light = 3.00 108 m/s
– h = Planck’s constant = 6.63 10-34 joule/s
• Note:  Joule is a unit of energy        1 Joule/second = 1 Watt
• Energy of a single photon of 0.5 m visible light?
– Seems very small, but this is roughly the energy it takes to chemically
modify a single molecule.
• Photons from a 100 W lightbulb  (assuming all 100W goes into light?)