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What's a safe, easily executable experiment to confirm that quantization of light occurs directly to the retina.

We know that light is quantized when projected on to a surface, or on to an inanimate detector, then the surface or the detector observed.

An eye can detect a single photon. This means we should be able to quantize light such that a single photon lands on the retina of the left eye or of the right, and the observer confirm it is seen in only one eye.

What's a design for this experiment?

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    $\begingroup$ Following up on that, this site is not to get a bunch of minions to do your work for you. If you just tell people to do things your question will be closed immediately. $\endgroup$
    – Matt Hanson
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 4:11
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    $\begingroup$ In quantum field theory, light is quantized regardless of whether it is projected onto a surface or onto an inanimate detector. The electromagnetic field is a quantum field, and photons are its quanta. We do not quantize light. All light is quantized as part of its essential nature. There is no un-quantized light. $\endgroup$
    – Ghoster
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 4:15
  • $\begingroup$ @Ghoster what's the experiment? $\endgroup$
    – it's a hire car baby
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 10:25
  • $\begingroup$ @Ghoster Re your "in quantum field theory..." comment. As every good scientist knows, theory gives way to experiment. $\endgroup$
    – it's a hire car baby
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 10:29

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As far as I know (and I am not a biologist), a retinal cell can respond to a single photon, but the back end circuits need 5-9 photons to arrive within 100 ms to trigger a neural response.

Nevertheless, here's the experiment: use spontaneous parameter down conversion to generate correlated photon pairs. Send one stream to a sensitive detector, the other to a "subject". Go from there.

Last time I detected single photons, the quantum efficiency of the detector was around 20 percent, which could present a problem. Nevertheless, the statistics can be worked out. Maybe there's an experiment there.

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  • $\begingroup$ What's the purpose of generating the correlated pairs? Is it so that one can measure independently of the person, when a photon is emitted? $\endgroup$
    – it's a hire car baby
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 10:30
  • $\begingroup$ so you know the input to the eyeball. $\endgroup$
    – JEB
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 15:55

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