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ZapperZ submitted a new PF Insights post
Do Photons have Mass?
Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.
Do Photons have Mass?
Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.
I never saw the relativistic mass used in a recent (not decades old) professional environment.One very seldom hears this when one attends a high energy physics seminar, for example, or read a particle collider experiment paper.
They are notable for nuclear reactions, they might become accessible for chemical reactions within the next decade or two.anorlunda said:I recognize that the mass differences I'm talking about are tiny; almost too small to measure.
If they move in the same way, yes.anorlunda said:For purposes of gravitation, all forms of energy gravitate equally, correct?
According to the current understanding of physics, photons are considered to be massless particles. However, they do have energy and momentum, which can sometimes be interpreted as having mass. This is known as relativistic mass, but it is not considered as an actual mass in the traditional sense.
This is a concept that is often difficult to wrap our minds around, but it is a fundamental principle in physics. According to Einstein's famous equation, E=mc², energy and mass are actually interchangeable. Photons, being massless, have energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation, which allows them to travel at the speed of light.
Yes, even though photons do not have mass, they are still affected by gravity. This was proven by Arthur Eddington's famous experiment during a solar eclipse in 1919. The gravitational pull of the Sun was observed to bend the path of light from distant stars, thus proving that light is affected by gravity.
Photons can neither be created nor destroyed. They are considered to be the fundamental particles of light and are always in motion. However, photons can be absorbed and emitted by matter, which gives the appearance of being created or destroyed. But in reality, the number of photons in the universe remains constant.
Photons are believed to be eternal and have no finite lifespan. As mentioned earlier, they can neither be created nor destroyed and are constantly in motion. This means that photons can theoretically travel forever, unless they are absorbed by matter or interact with other particles.