In "The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" Richard Feynman uses a "stop-watch" to time the photon as it moves. For each photon path, the final direction of the hand is considered as a "vector", which is a rather strange step. Then all possible "vectors" are combined to end up with a "probability", which is is another stange step. All this appears as a simplified way to make the concepts of QED accessible to a non-expert audience like me. What are the more formal ways to describe this theory?
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$\begingroup$ Feynman is essentially describing the path integral formalism of quantum mechanics $\endgroup$– By SymmetryMay 26, 2021 at 12:19
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$\begingroup$ Most textbooks on optics have an alternative. $\endgroup$– ProfRobMay 26, 2021 at 15:42
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$\begingroup$ @By Symmetry Thanks for redirecting me toward the founding principles. $\endgroup$– JCRCANMay 26, 2021 at 21:54
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$\begingroup$ @ ProfRob You are refering to textbooks on optics. Does it means that QED deals specifically with the optic domain? $\endgroup$– JCRCANMay 26, 2021 at 21:57
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