RAY <PCH### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> Would it be possible to simulate photons with the wave model of light?

  It would be quite difficult and heavy to simulate. Analytically it would
be probably impossible, and even numerically it would probably require quite
a lot of calculations.

> Also, are there any
> physical situations where light acts as a particle?

  For the effects which photons are used for, ie. caustics, it doesn't
matter how you model it. The result will be the same. Modelling them as
particles, that is, as rays, is just a lot easier and faster.

  The situations where light acts like particles are such that they are
not visible to the eye and thus not useful in practice. One such situation
is when a photon can collide with a free electron, deviating its course
(I don't remember the name of this effect).
  There are situations where the wave-nature of light is visible to the
naked eye, for example some interference effects. However, as I said, this
is just too difficult to model and seldom useful as well.

-- 
#macro N(D)#if(D>99)cylinder{M()#local D=div(D,104);M().5,2pigment{rgb M()}}
N(D)#end#end#macro M()<mod(D,13)-6mod(div(D,13)8)-3,10>#end blob{
N(11117333955)N(4254934330)N(3900569407)N(7382340)N(3358)N(970)}//  - Warp -

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