On the Nature of the Photon

Barry Kieran Radcliffe

Published Jul 22, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual reinterpretation of the photon within the Relational Lens framework. While preserving the established mathematics of Maxwell's equations, Special Relativity, and Quantum Electrodynamics, it proposes that the photon is more naturally understood as a delocalized relational process bounded by localized emission and absorption interactions, rather than as a continuously localized object propagating through preexisting spacetime. This relational ontology provides a unified conceptual interpretation of wave-particle duality, interference, quantum measurement, entanglement, the null spacetime interval, and the roles of wavelength, frequency, and energy. The work is interpretive rather than mathematical, offering an alternative ontological perspective that remains fully consistent with established experimental physics while suggesting a broader relational foundation for the emergence of operational spacetime.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21500178

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