Perhaps a less controversial way of phrasing the question of the OP might be “between their emission and their absorption, do photons interact with the rest of the universe in any way?” Can one in any meaningful sense say “a photon just passed by”?
Perhaps a less controversial way of phrasing the question of the OP might be “between their emission and their absorption, do photons interact with the rest of the universe in any way?” Can one in any meaningful sense say “a photon just passed by”?