How do photons travel without mass?

Since photons (particles of light) have no mass, they must obey E = pc and therefore get all of their energy from their momentum. If a particle has no mass (m = 0) and is at rest (p = 0), then the total energy is zero (E = 0).

Why does light have energy but no mass?

This is general equation. Light has mass unless its frequency is zero(that’s impossible). The amount of energy photon(another name of light) carries equals to its frequency times a constant called Plank constant.

How does a photon have momentum but no mass?

In short, even though photons have no mass, they still have momentum proportional to their energy, given by the formula p=E/c. Because photons have no mass, all of the momentum of a photon actually comes from its energy and frequency as described by the Planck-Einstein relation E=hf.

Why is a photon massless?

If there was a way (there isn’t; special relativity prohibits it) to observe a photon at rest, you would find it massless. All the relativistic mass of the photon comes from it’s energy. This is why we usually say that photons are massless.

What is a photon massless?

Light is composed of photons, so we could ask if the photon has mass. The answer is then definitely “no”: the photon is a massless particle. According to theory it has energy and momentum but no mass, and this is confirmed by experiment to within strict limits.

Are photons massless or massless?

If there was a way (there isn’t; special relativity prohibits it) to observe a photon at rest, you would find it massless. All the relativistic mass of the photon comes from it’s energy. In particle physics when we say mass, we usually refer to the rest mass. This is why we usually say that photons are massless.

How can a photon gain mass?

Through processes that involve the electromagnetic interaction in general and accelerating, vibrating or jumping electrons in particular. When people claim that a photon is massless, they mean that a photon has zero rest mass. In special relativity, the formula for the energy of a particle with mass m possessing a momentum p is

Is there another force in the black hole or does light?

Is there another force in the black hole or does light has mass? This is a great question! You are right that according to Newton’s gravity, the force of gravity on particle that has 0 mass would be zero, and so gravity should not affect light.

What is the mass of a photon at rest?

Or, we could think of it as the mass not attributed to the kinetic energy, but the particle itself. If there was a way (there isn’t; special relativity prohibits it) to observe a photon at rest, you would find it massless. All the relativistic mass of the photon comes from it’s energy.