- #1
Lelan Thara
- 59
- 0
(I hope I've chosen the right sub-forum for this question...)
Hi folks - I've recently joined here to see if people who are more knowledgeable than me can help me understand some physics issues I have struggled with for a long time.
My current question is a pretty basic one about how it is possible for a photon to have no mass.
We have the famous equation, "E = mc squared" My math knowledge is very limited, but from what I know - if I assign the value "0" to m, and multiply 0 by c squared, the answer for E should be zero.
Yet a photon possesses energy, and is said to have no mass.
I can see 3 possibilities:
- "E = mc squared" is not a standard algebra equation, and assigning the value "0" to m doesn't result in E being zero.
- "E = mc squared" does not apply to photons - something that seems very unlikely to me.
- photons do, in fact, have mass, or conversely, have no energy.
Can someone help me understand this? I would be very grateful. Thanks!
Hi folks - I've recently joined here to see if people who are more knowledgeable than me can help me understand some physics issues I have struggled with for a long time.
My current question is a pretty basic one about how it is possible for a photon to have no mass.
We have the famous equation, "E = mc squared" My math knowledge is very limited, but from what I know - if I assign the value "0" to m, and multiply 0 by c squared, the answer for E should be zero.
Yet a photon possesses energy, and is said to have no mass.
I can see 3 possibilities:
- "E = mc squared" is not a standard algebra equation, and assigning the value "0" to m doesn't result in E being zero.
- "E = mc squared" does not apply to photons - something that seems very unlikely to me.
- photons do, in fact, have mass, or conversely, have no energy.
Can someone help me understand this? I would be very grateful. Thanks!