Feeblea
Taylor’s Feeble Light / ~2000 h Physics
Feeblea, a patient hooded watcher, opens a dark wooden box with a faint glow inside.
The Physics
In 1909 a young G. I. Taylor photographed the shadow of a needle with light so dim that, in modern terms, rarely more than one photon was in the box at a time (Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 15, 114). His longest exposure ran about 2000 hours, roughly three months. The diffraction fringes were just as sharp as with bright light.
texposure ≈ 2000 h
- texposure: exposure time of the faintest photograph
It is often called the first single-photon interference experiment.
Honest caveat: Taylor did not detect single photons and was testing a different idea; a classical wave also explains his result. Truly single-photon interference came in the 1980s.
On the sticker
Feeblea leans over an open wooden box with a faint warm light inside. Printed text: FEEBLEA with the line ~2000 h. Pixel-art kiss-cut vinyl sticker, white, in 2″, 3″, 4″ and 6″ sizes.
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Details
Size3″ × 3″
3″ × 3″ kiss-cut sticker.
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Field notes
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