Question about Photons.

YoungDreamer

I am posting this under the belief that velocity affects mass and time, if my understanding is incorrect please correct it.

If a photon is travelling at C then theoretically does it have an increased mass compared to a photon that is "at rest"?

And if a photon is moving at C then does it have an infinite "life span"?

Pengwuino

Photons do not have a rest frame and cannot be at rest. They also have no sense of time.

You may want to have a look at http://physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3103865

YoungDreamer

It is obvious that a photon does not have a "sense" of time. But thanks for the link.

danR

I guess you're asking if a photon, observed by external 'stationary' (which will always be stationary to light's velocity of c) system appears to suffer time dilation, in this case infinite. Obviously no, because they can be destroyed in a matter of attoseconds and less.

But photons are massless and not party to the whole relativity time, length, mass thing anyway.

pallidin

I agree. Photons exist only at c or not at all.
This curious phenomenon is not seen elsewhere in nature(to my understanding that is)

However, that fact that a photon has no "rest mass" helps, somewhat, in our query as to how it can go from 0 to c instantaneously.