which scientist is most often credited with the idea that a quantum of light can act as a particle
In March 1905 , Einstein created the quantum theory of light, the idea that light exists as tiny packets, or particles, which he called photons. Alongside Max Planck's work on quanta of heat Einstein proposed one of the most shocking idea in twentieth century physics: we live in a quantum universe, one built out of tiny, discrete chunks of energy and matter. Next, in April and May, Einstein published two papers.