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- Photons have mass.
- Photons have momentum.
- Photons have energy.
- Photons are affected by a gravitation field and follow a curved path called a geodesic. (A geodesic is a straight line in curved space, so what you call curved depends on whether you are a geometer or if you are watching from a distance.)
- Photons have a gravitational field of their own which exerts an attractive force on other matter.
- Photons interact electromagnetically with matter and other photons.
- Energy of a photon equals Plank's constant times the frequency.
- Mass of a photon is equal to energy divided by the speed of light squared.
- Higher frequency photons have more energy and hence more mass and it is well known that sometimes the energy of a photon can be converted into a particle with mass (usually in pairs).
- Photons have zero "rest mass" but that is not the "mass" in E=mc2. It is not rest mass that determines momentum or energy or gravitational attraction.
- And, photons are never at rest.
- If you accelerate to "catch up" to a photon, the photon does not appear to slow down, but its frequency decreases and energy decreases, approaching zero (same as the "rest mass" as you approach the speed of light.
All that is true, but it is also true that characterizing any of these in a proper theoretical framework will inherently involve quantum mechanics, special relativity and general relativity.
Addendum:If the question is posed as to whether photons have "physical mass," one must ask for a definition of nonphysical mass. There is mass, just mass, and there is no circumventing "mass." It does not come in types or flavors or with provisos. Mass is mass.One more thing for the questioner:
Photons are quanta of energy, photons are not matter. They have mass since energy has mass. Mass as a property of energy is no different than mass as a property of matter. [Great summary of photon properties above]
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What is the mass of all photons from the sun striking the Earth in a year?
Mass of photons? Zero, photons have no mass. If you mean energy, that is a different question, ask it.
How do you calculate the mass of light?
light has zero mass. Photons have zero mass. So according to e=mc2 light must also have zero energy. Astonishing how all these photons reach us from all the way across the universe! But all physical things have mass
Do photons of a different energy have the same mass?
Yes... and that mass would be Zero. Photons don't have mass.
mass of photon?
Photons have no mass.
Was feynman wrong in saying light is a particle?
Most likely not. Light is made up of photons, and even photons have mass..Thus light is a particle as particles are mass. But to confuse you, even though light = photons & photons = particle & particle = mass; the photons also act as a wave. Which is rather incredible, because it means that a mass also acts as a wave.
Which atomic particle has no mass?
Photons and neutrinos dont have mass.
What type of mass is light?
Light 'particles' (photons) have no rest mass.
Photons are tiny bundles of radiation that have no what?
mass
Do photons physically move or displace opsin molecules of rhodopsin and if so how do they do so since photons have nearly 0 mass do they use their mass or some type of energy transfer?
Photons have energy, therefore they have both mass, and momentum. (Note: They do have a "rest mass" or "invariant mass" of zero, which basically means that they can only move at the speed of light.) Photons of high energy (and high mass, and high momentum) can destroy molecules, or even atoms.
Is it possible to measure the mass of a sunbeam?
Photons are considered as particles without mass.
What have no mass?
Now, all the particles are considered as having a mass (including photons).
What are subatomic particles with no mass?
The photons and neutrinos are considered without mass although they have a very small mass.
