In the present paper, the basic ideas of the {\it stochastic limit of quantum theory} are applied to quantum electro-dynamics. This naturally leads to the study of a a new type of quantum stochastic calculus on a {\it Hilbert module}. Our main result is that in the weak coupling limit of a system composed of a free particle (electron, atom,...) interacting, via the minimal coupling, with the quantum electromagnetic field, a new type of quantum noise arises, living on a Hilbert module rather than a Hilbert space. Moreover we prove that the vacuum distribution of the limiting field operator is not Gaussian, as usual, but a nonlinear deformation of the Wigner semi--circle law. A third new object arising from the present theory,...