Final answer:
The energy of a red photon is less than that of a green photon due to their wavelengths; red light has a longer wavelength and thus lower energy compared to the shorter wavelength and higher energy of green light.
Step-by-step explanation:
The energy of a red photon is less than that of a green photon. According to the principles of physics, particularly those pertaining to the electromagnetic spectrum, the energy of a photon is inversely proportional to its wavelength. Red light has a longer wavelength compared to green light, which means that it contains less energy. On the electromagnetic spectrum, red light typically has a wavelength around 650 nm, while green light has a shorter wavelength of approximately 500 nm.
This relationship between wavelength and energy is governed by the Planck-Einstein relation, which states that the energy of a photon (E) is equal to Planck's constant (h) times the frequency of the light (f), given by E = hf. As frequency is inversely related to wavelength (f = c/λ, where c is the speed of light and λ is the wavelength), photons of green light with shorter wavelengths will have higher frequencies and, thus, greater energy compared to red photons. This concept is crucial in various applications, including solar panel technology where understanding photon energy can help optimize the efficiency of light absorption.