+18 votes
in Visible Light by
edited by

Your answer

Your name to display (optional):
Privacy: Your email address will only be used for sending these notifications.
+9 votes
by

No, light does not have mass. It consists of massless particles called photons. Photons are elementary particles and are considered to be "massless" because they travel at the speed of light in a vacuum and do not experience gravitational forces in the same way as objects with mass.

The concept of mass is typically associated with objects that have rest mass, which means they have mass even when they are not moving. While light does carry energy and momentum, it does not possess rest mass. The energy of a photon is related to its frequency and is described by the equation E = hf, where E is the energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is the frequency.

In comparison to ordinary objects, which have rest mass, light has no mass at all. However, it is important to note that light can interact with objects and exert a force on them through the transfer of momentum. This phenomenon is observed, for example, in solar sails, where sunlight can exert a pressure on the sail and propel a spacecraft forward. But again, this is due to the transfer of momentum, not mass.

Welcome to Physicsgurus Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community.
...