Author Topic: Does light, theoretically, have any mass?  (Read 5238 times)

It exists right? so it has mass.

You actually weigh more in a lit room than you do a dark one.


im going to assume using a very weight scale (the ones that you step on??) and doing this would actually be true, but it still wouldnt because that light isnt part of your body???


Light must also effect the weight of the scale in a lit room. That's why the doctor's office is so damn bright. THEY WAN'T YOU TO THINK YOU'RE FAT!!!


im going to assume using a very weight scale (the ones that you step on??) and doing this would actually be true, but it still wouldnt because that light isnt part of your body???
the scale would still be affected by the light (if it was enough to make a difference), whether or not it was part of your weight, not to mention some light pushing down on you

the scale would still be affected by the light (if it was enough to make a difference), whether or not it was part of your weight, not to mention some light pushing down on you

i know this

so the weight on the scale would be different but your ACTUAL weight wouldnt be?

Mass =/= Weight

Light probably has no weight because it isn't affected by Earth's gravity, eh.

weight is just the normal force of your mass being pulled down by gravity.
the photons would exert some force on the scale and you, affecting the weight it detects (if it was sensitive enough)


I looked it up.

It exists right? so it has mass.

You actually weigh more in a lit room than you do a dark one.
False, and true. Light is literally photons, and photons have no mass.
Photons impart momentum on objects, which obviously means that it can push you downwards.

Photons can impart momentum because they travel at the speed of light, and the well known equation E=mc2 is where the misconception that light has mass comes from.

Mass is actually only properly measured when the object in question is at a standstill. This is due to the fact that the faster an object travels, the more mass it has due to relativity.

Light cannot be still, ever, under any circumstances, therefore light cannot have mass.

i know this
so the weight on the scale would be different but your ACTUAL weight wouldnt be?
well weight is only a measure of the force of gravity on your mass, so, no, I guess not, unless you considered the light to be part of your mass

I looked it up.
False, and true. Light is literally photons, and photons have no mass.
Photons impart momentum on objects, which obviously means that it can push you downwards.

Photons can impart momentum because they travel at the speed of light, and the well known equation E=mc2 is where the misconception that light has mass comes from.

Mass is actually only properly measured when the object in question is at a standstill. This is due to the fact that the faster an object travels, the more mass it has due to relativity.

Light cannot be still, ever, under any circumstances, therefore light cannot have mass.
http://io9.com/scientists-freeze-light-for-an-entire-minute-912634479

Oops, quantum mechanics seems to have forgeted you.

Mass =/= Weight

Light probably has no weight because it isn't affected by Earth's gravity, eh.
light is affected by anything with mass because everything has gravity
even you bend light
nowhere near enough to notice it but you certainly do

light is affected by anything with mass because everything has gravity
even you bend light
nowhere near enough to notice it but you certainly do
Sounds like a weight joke. Could be a weight joke.


Sounds like a weight joke. Could be a weight joke.
if you wanted to i could make it a weight joke
but it wasn't intended to be