Is a photon visible

Answer 1

The photon doesn't have a figure one can relate to. We can't say a photon looks like this -- or like that, because there's nothing in the world we see with our eyes day by day that looks like a photon.

Answer 2

There is no way to "see" a photon, so we cannot describe what it looks like. And because the photon exhibits what is called wave-particle duality, it can be considered as either a particle or a wave depending on what method we use to observe them. As regards the photon, we cannot "pin it down" to being either a particle or wave. Use the links below for more information.

Answer 3

You can't look at a photon passing by and say "There it is !".

But when a photon enters your eye and gets absorbed in the

retina at the back of your eye, you know it, as long as its

wavelength is in the visible range.

(Actually, your eye isn't sensitive enough to know about one

single photon. It takes a few million or trillion of them, but the

idea is the same.)

Answer 4

Photons themselves are not visible since they are elementary particles of light. However, when photons interact with matter, such as when they strike our retinas, we perceive them as light, making objects visible.