/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I understand that light does not possess mass, but if it possesses a type of energy and it is proven that it exerts minuscule pressure on things, how does this happen?
StemQ Notice: This post was originally submitted on StemQ.io, a Q&A application for STEM subjects powered by the Steem blockchain.
Light does not have mass, but photons are Energy, and E=mc2, so it has relativistic mass (Uh I think! ... I'm not a physicist), but that mass is relative to its velocity so its not what we technically think of as mass...
Light also has momentum, which is how it is able to move something, however I don't conceptually understand how light has momentum despite lacking mass, as mass is a component of momentum.
I have not answered your question at all!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_special_relativity
Mass in special relativity
Mass in special relativity incorporates the general understandings from the laws of motion of special relativity along with its concept of mass–energy equivalence. The word mass is given two meanings in special relativity: one (rest or invariant mass, and its equivalent rest energy) is an invariant quantity which is the same for all observers in all reference frames; the other (relativistic mass or the equivalent total energy of the body) is dependent on the velocity of the observer. The term relativistic mass tends not to be used in particle and nuclear physics and is often avoided by writers on special relativity. They do, however, talk about the (total) energy of a body, which is the equivalent to its relativistic mass, rather than the rest energy equivalent to its rest mass.
To understand this at a simple level, take three formulas: E=mc2, E=hf (h is Planck's constant) and the standard wave formula c=fλ.
You then get de Broglie's formula, λ=mc/h.
Now, mc is momentum, p, so that p=hλ.
This was used by de Broglie to suggest that massive particles, such as electrons, can show wave-like properties. In your case, this shows that a photon can have momentum and hence can create pressure.
This is all non-relativistic and as taught in upper secondary physics, but hope it helps.
Hi, could you check the title of this post.
Something must have gone wrong as you were editing it a few days ago.
Cheers.