Gravity Lensing & Photons: Massless Interaction?

In summary: This is because the energy of the light has been converted into mass (in the form of photons). Mass is something that you can feel because it has a weight.
  • #1
illconductor
5
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hi. so if a photon doesn't have a mass why can you attract it with gravity as in the case of gravity lensing. does some quality of the photon allows it not to be affected by the higgs field and therefore has no mass and travel at the speed of light.?

and having said that. in degenerate matter light slows down, would you say that since superluminal travel requires no mass, if you slowed down light the photon would gain mass and interect with the higgs field.

or would you say that the higgs field and electromag field are at right angles in a vector sense and never interact... or both and the universe freaks out and turns off the higgs field.. just joking??
 
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  • #2
illconductor said:
hi. so if a photon doesn't have a mass why can you attract it with gravity as in the case of gravity lensing. does some quality of the photon allows it not to be affected by the higgs field and therefore has no mass and travel at the speed of light.?

and having said that. in degenerate matter light slows down, would you say that since superluminal travel requires no mass, if you slowed down light the photon would gain mass and interect with the higgs field.

Please read several entries in the FAQ thread.

Zz.
 
  • #3
yeah i get that if a phton has energy it has mass in some way. I am not a scientist so i didnt get the destincttion between the different kinds of masses, i assume you can't weigh a photon with a set of scales .. what i mean is it doesn't have a mass that you could feel pushing against your hand towards earth.
 
  • #4
illconductor said:
hi. so if a photon doesn't have a mass why can you attract it with gravity as in the case of gravity lensing.
Gravity doesn't only act on massive particles, it can also acts on massless particles (provided that they have a momentum). Put simply, energy and momentum distort space-time and it is this disortion that results in gravitation.

All particles (not under the influence of any forces such as EM) follow geodesics and the geodesics are not generally flat in non-euclidean (curved) space-time.
illconductor said:
does some quality of the photon allows it not to be affected by the higgs field and therefore has no mass and travel at the speed of light.?
A massive photon would contradict the requirement of a local gauge symmetry.
illconductor said:
and having said that. in degenerate matter light slows down, would you say that since superluminal travel requires no mass, if you slowed down light the photon would gain mass and interect with the higgs field.
Photon's do not slow down, they always travel at c. It is a common misconception that photons slow down in dispersive media. Check out the FAQ sticky in this forum for more information.
 
  • #5
thanks
 
  • #6
ahh i c. but the material i am talking about is a degenerative one like the material of a neutron star or similar. .. is it the same kind of thing absorbtion and emittance?

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/02.18/light.html [Broken]
 
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  • #7
illconductor said:
yeah i get that if a phton has energy it has mass in some way. I am not a scientist so i didnt get the destincttion between the different kinds of masses, i assume you can't weigh a photon with a set of scales .. what i mean is it doesn't have a mass that you could feel pushing against your hand towards earth.

I'm not sure that's quite right. In principle, if I shine a light on you, you'll feel a push.
 

1. What is gravity lensing?

Gravity lensing, also known as gravitational lensing, is a phenomenon in which light from a distant object is bent and distorted by the gravitational pull of a massive object, such as a galaxy or cluster of galaxies. This results in a magnified and distorted image of the distant object, allowing us to study it in more detail.

2. How does gravity lensing work?

Gravity lensing occurs because massive objects can bend the fabric of space-time, causing light to follow a curved path around them. This is similar to how a lens bends and focuses light. The more massive the object, the stronger its gravitational pull and the more significant the bending of light.

3. Can gravity lensing be used to study dark matter?

Yes, gravity lensing is one of the most powerful tools for studying dark matter, which is an invisible and mysterious substance that makes up about 85% of the universe's mass. By observing how light is affected by the gravitational pull of dark matter, scientists can map out its distribution and better understand its properties.

4. How are photons involved in gravity lensing?

Photons, which are particles of light, are crucial in gravity lensing because they are the ones being bent and distorted by the gravitational pull of massive objects. The path of photons is determined by the curvature of space-time, and this is what creates the magnified and distorted images we see in gravity lensing.

5. Can gravity lensing be used to detect exoplanets?

Yes, gravity lensing can also be used to detect exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, it can cause a slight distortion in the star's light, similar to how a magnifying glass can distort light. This is called microlensing and can help scientists identify and study exoplanets that are too far away or too small to be detected by other methods.

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