If light waves were infinitely short, it would imply that their duration or time period between successive peaks or troughs is effectively zero. This scenario would have several implications:
Extremely high frequencies: The duration of a wave is inversely proportional to its frequency. If the light waves were infinitely short, their frequency would be infinitely high. Higher frequencies correspond to shorter wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. In the case of light waves, shorter wavelengths correspond to higher energy photons.
Continuous emission: Infinitely short light waves would imply that the emission of light would be continuous rather than discrete. In reality, light is emitted and absorbed in discrete packets called photons, with each photon carrying a specific amount of energy. However, if light waves were infinitely short, there would be an infinite number of photons emitted and absorbed in any given time period.
Uncertainty principle: The uncertainty principle, a fundamental principle in quantum mechanics, states that there is a fundamental limit to how precisely certain pairs of physical properties, such as position and momentum, can be known simultaneously. In the case of light waves, if their duration became infinitely short, it would imply a perfectly known frequency. However, this would violate the uncertainty principle because a perfectly known frequency would correspond to an infinitely uncertain energy. This contradiction indicates that light waves cannot have infinitely short durations.
In practice, light waves, such as those in the visible spectrum, have finite durations and can be described by their characteristic wavelengths or frequencies. The concept of infinitely short light waves is a theoretical construct used to explore certain aspects of physics but does not correspond to the behavior of light in the physical world.