What is the Mass of a Photon?
by 
warriorsoul
ANSWERS: 4
-
you can find information about that here: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/photon_mass.html
-
Pervailing theories contend that photons are massless. However, new studies have shown... http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975NuPhB.101...77P.
-
While we cannot directly measure very small masses, the way the electro-magnetical forces work sets an experimental upper limit on the photon rest mass of about 10^-50 kilograms. The photon is deeply interconnected with electro-magnetical forces (Electroweak, to be precise), any bigger photon mass would result in noticeable deviations from e.-m. theory. Is that a small value? It is incredibly small! An electron has 10^-30 kg, so a photon is at least a Billion-Trillion times lighter! (most likely its mass is exactly zero) As always, Wikipedia is your friend (photon rest mass right at the bottom): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon
-
The standard model says they are massless. Current research seems to be supporting this but physicists are trying to prove it wrong! Would be a crushing blow to the Standard Model if photons have mass.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC