Photonic-Saturation
- Atoms have electrons in orbitals of specific energy levels.
- Photons with an energy level that can’t push up an electron to the next higher orbital will simply bounce off.
- When a photon of a specific wavelength enters an atom, it gets absorbed by the electron which goes up an orbital, and in time the electron moves back down an orbital and releases it.
- If we send in a photon while the electron has already absorbed one, there will be no electrons to absorb it and it will just pass through, making the atom “transparent”, or “saturated.”