• chuckleslord@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    37
    ·
    2 months ago

    In short, even though photons have no mass, they still have momentum proportional to their energy, given by the formula p=E/c. Because photons have no mass, all of the momentum of a photon actually comes from its energy and frequency as described by the Planck-Einstein relation E=hf.

    From here: https://profoundphysics.com/if-photons-have-no-mass-how-can-they-have-momentum/

    Essentially, momentum is a function of energy, not mass. It’s just that massive objects have way more momentum than massless ones.

    • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      Essentially, momentum is a function of energy, not mass.

      Thanks! That’s the critical piece of information.