PHOTON is the fundamental particle of light and all electromagnetic radiation. As the quantum of the electromagnetic field, photons are massless particles that travel at the speed of light in vacuum. The word comes from Greek "phos" meaning "light." In word games, PHOTON is a 6-letter word worth 11 base points in Scrabble, making it valuable due to its P and H tiles.
Yes. PHOTON is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 11 points in Scrabble, 12 in Words With Friends and 12 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | P | H | O | T | O | N | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Words With Friends | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Wordfeud | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
A PHOTON is the elementary particle that serves as the quantum of all forms of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, radio waves, X-rays, and gamma rays. As the force carrier for electromagnetism, photons are responsible for all electromagnetic phenomena and are the most abundant particles in the universe. They have zero rest mass, no electric charge, and always travel at the speed of light in vacuum (approximately 299,792,458 meters per second).
In quantum mechanics, photons exhibit wave-particle duality, meaning they can behave both as particles and waves depending on how they are observed. This dual nature was first demonstrated in the famous double-slit experiment and forms a cornerstone of quantum physics. Photons carry energy proportional to their frequency (E = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is frequency), which explains why ultraviolet light can cause sunburn while visible light cannot.
The concept of the photon revolutionized our understanding of light and energy. Albert Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect using light quanta (later called photons) earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. Today, photons are central to technologies ranging from solar panels and lasers to fiber optic communications and quantum computing, making them arguably the most practically important fundamental particles in modern technology.
The word photon was coined in 1926 by American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis, derived from the Greek word "φῶς" (phos), meaning "light." The suffix "-on" was added following the convention established for naming particles like "electron" and "proton," creating a term that literally means "light particle."
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of PHOTON.
Hooks: no front hooks; back PHOTONS.
Words inside PHOTON: 38 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: PHONOPHOTOHOOPPHONPHOTPOOHTOPHHOPPHTPOHHOOTHON. See all words from PHOTON.