The Aspiring Polymath's Society discussion

I am curious about properties and research regarding light and photons. Specificially where photons are generated from in the molecular structure of things that emit light. How different color light travels at different speed (or is it just different wave lenghts), are there different speeds of light, etc. Any recommended reading material?

That would be the field of spectroscopy, however I do not know an example of a non-textbook example.

Two great works that I have used in the past and still currently use are:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44...

Probably best to look at Wikipedia especially fluorescence, phosphorescence, raman strectroscopy and spectroscopy in general. Also look at how lasers work.

I know you posted this in November, but if you're still looking, Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind and Light are two "popular science" / "microhistory" books all about light. If you specifically just want the technical details, any introductory physics text should do (for example, Chapters 39 to 45 of Physics, Volume 2).

I don't know if this specifically answers your query but it is interesting!

At The Limits Of The Photoelectric Effect

By way of the classical photoeffect, Einstein proved in 1905 that light also has particle characteristics. However, with extremely high light intensities, remarkable things happen in the process...The current models based on Einstein's idea are simply described in such a way: A photon knocks an external electron out of an atom, provided that the photon energy is high enough.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/...

How to Turn Sound Into Light: Sonoluminescence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yHDeK...