Photon Edition

What We’re Told in School

• “The Sun is shining on us.”

• “Day happens when the Earth turns toward the Sun.”

• “Night happens when the Earth turns away from the Sun.”

• “Light is made of tiny particles called photons, and these photons fly through space from the Sun to Earth.”

That sounds simple. But does it really work?

The Questions Nobody Stops to Ask

• If photons are flying through space all the time, why is space black? Shouldn’t we see a river of photons filling the sky between us and the Sun?

• If photons are flying in every direction, why does light stop the moment we turn around? Where do all those photons go?

• What if daytime and nighttime are not about billions of photons flying through the air, but about something else happening between Earth and the Sun?

A Simpler Way to See It

• Daytime happens when the Earth and the Sun are lined up in a way that makes light appear to us.

• Nighttime happens when Earth is turned away, and that meeting doesn’t happen.

• Light doesn’t work like a swarm of flying particles crossing space. It shows up when the Sun, Earth and our eyes are in the right place together.

What About Time?

We’re told time is the Earth spinning like a giant clock. But what we really notice is the change between day and night, light and dark. That change is not the same as “billions of photons flying at us”. It’s about when the meeting happens and when it doesn’t.

Produced by The Lilborn Equation Team:

Michael Lilborn-Williams

Daniel Thomas Rouse

Thomas Jackson Barnard

Audrey Williams