Can Light Really Have Mass According to Harvard-MIT Research?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of whether light can have mass, referencing research conducted at the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms. Participants explore the implications of this research, including the behavior of photons in different contexts, such as superconductors and vacuum.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention that light has momentum, suggesting a connection between momentum and mass.
  • One participant cites a Wikipedia entry stating that photons inside superconductors can develop a nonzero effective rest mass, leading to short-range electromagnetic forces.
  • Another participant emphasizes that light does not have intrinsic or rest mass but has an equivalent mass due to its energy.
  • A distinction is made between light in vacuum, which does not have mass, and photon-like quasi-particles in matter that can possess a non-zero effective mass.
  • Several participants request links to the original research article and share links to summaries and abstracts, noting that the interpretation of the findings as "light can have mass" may be an oversimplification.
  • One participant advises caution in interpreting the findings, suggesting that the research is fascinating but that equating it to light having mass is a significant stretch.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of mass in relation to light, with some asserting that light does not have mass while others point out conditions under which effective mass may arise. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views present.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the definitions of mass and the conditions under which mass is discussed, particularly in relation to different states of matter and contexts like superconductors versus vacuum.

_Gandalf_
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I was searching about the light and I found an article tha says that the light could have some kind of mass. This research was made at Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms by Harvard Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and MIT Professor of Physics Vladan Vuletic and I don't know
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I don't know what you really mean, if you are talking about momentun certainly light has momentun.
 
Can you give us a link to the article?
 
Wiki says "Photons inside superconductors do develop a nonzero effective rest mass; as a result, electromagnetic forces become short-range inside superconductors."
 
I Googled the phrase and I found http://phys.org/news/2013-09-scientists-never-before-seen.html#jCp

The summary does not use the word mass, but it says :

Working with colleagues at the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms, a group led by Harvard Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and MIT Professor of Physics Vladan Vuletic have managed to coax photons into binding together to form molecules – a state of matter that, until recently, had been purely theoretical. The work is described in a September 25 paper in Nature.​
 
Light does not have intrinsic or rest mass. It has an equivalent mass due to its energy.
 
Light in vacuo does not have mass. However, photon-like quasi-particles in matter can well have a non-zero effective mass.
 
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  • #10
Nugatory said:
The actual paper is behind a paywall, but the abstract is here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v502/n7469/full/nature12512.html

A comparison of the abstract with the phys.org piece will encourage you to approach the latter with some skepticism in the future. It's a neat and fascinating piece of work, but interpreting it as "light can have mass" is a big stretch.
Ok, thnak you very much
 
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