Question: How are photons converted to electrons?

Lewis Wright answered on 5 Mar 2017:

Photons aren’t converted into electrons, they are absorbed by them. You are right to say ‘converted’ though, as energy is never created or destroyed, but converted from one form to another.

Electrons are negatively charged particles with a tiny mass; photons are packets of pure energy with no mass, which can’t be broken into smaller pieces. How much energy a photon has depends on its frequency.

When an electron absorbs a photon, it moves into a ‘higher energy state’ – imagine bouncing on a trampoline holding a tennis ball, and at the top of a bounce you throw the tennis ball up into the air. The energy from your throw is the extra energy absorbed from the photon, and the electron can move around more.
If an electron falls into a ‘lower energy state’ then it emits a photon – I can’t think of a trampoline example for this!

Exactly how electrons absorb photons, I don’t know (quantum mechanics gets WEIRD!), but if I haven’t explained very well ask me another question! 🙂