An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The → quantum of the → electromagnetic field, which mediates the interaction between charged particles. It is the mass-less → boson with zero → electric charge, which propagates with the → speed of light in vacuum. The energy of a photon is connected to its → frequency ν, through the formula E = hν, where h is → Planck’s constant.

See also: From phot-, variant of → photo- before a vowel + → -on a suffix used in the names of subatomic particles (gluon; meson; neutron), quanta (photon, graviton), and other minimal entities or components. The term photon was coined by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1926 in a letter to the editor of Nature magazine (Vol. 118, Part 2, December 18, page 874).