Einstein's Search & the Illusion of Reality

[NASYO]

---

if light is energy and energy has mass, then does it mean that light has mass? if if passes through a gravitational field, will it have weight and consequently be bent? if that is the case, then the light we receive from distant stars would not be from its exact position right?

YES, light can be bent.

[fritzd]

just asking lang ha. ayaw lang ko dukla dayon.

hahha! ayaw pud ko dukla.. here is my take.... That is a very tricky argument. It can be very confusing even for me. I argued a lot ani nga question ni Sir Tan(naa kaila pa ni sir tan? hehehe) sa USC during my undergrad. It's very confusing. The answer is no. Light has no mass. Light may behave as a wave or a particle but not both at the same time. As a wave, its a wave. A wave is just a propagating disturbance. As a particle, this observed from Photoelectric effect (light incident on metals can eject electrons). One might argue that from the particle nature of light, light has mass. However, light only has momentum and has no mass. Some of you might argue that why does gravity influence light (black holes)? Well, this is where Einstein comes in. According to General Relativity, light is simply just following the curvature of space and time and is not because of the traditional Newtonian gravity where objects with mass attract each other. This is also why Einstein's theory is very good because it gives us a whole new perspective on the universe.

Anyway, its really a very long story. I can suggest tons of reading material and books for this matter. But anyway, here is an internet resource which will explain even more but in the simplest way possible.
http://www2.corepower.com:8080/~relfaq/light_mass.html

that's it... hehehe! Light Theory or the Quantum theory of light can be very misleading at times. When you try to understand with limited background in Physics, it will just lead you to confusion. maglibog pa gani gihapon ko bisan mao ni akong gipangkina.on.. hahahaha! Some concepts are just too bizarre. haha

[fritzd]

yeah, you got that right.. light has some mass.. but very very light..
only a blackhole can bend light through its gravitational pull..

sakto! light is very very light! hehehehe

[bluedes]

hahha! ayaw pud ko dukla.. here is my take.... That is a very tricky argument. It can be very confusing even for me. I argued a lot ani nga question ni Sir Tan(naa kaila pa ni sir tan? hehehe) sa USC during my undergrad. It's very confusing. The answer is no. Light has no mass. Light may behave as a wave or a particle but not both at the same time. As a wave, its a wave. A wave is just a propagating disturbance. As a particle, this observed from Photoelectric effect (light incident on metals can eject electrons). One might argue that from the particle nature of light, light has mass. However, light only has momentum and has no mass. Some of you might argue that why does gravity influence light (black holes)? Well, this is where Einstein comes in. According to General Relativity, light is simply just following the curvature of space and time and is not because of the traditional Newtonian gravity where objects with mass attract each other. This is also why Einstein's theory is very good because it gives us a whole new perspective on the universe.

Anyway, its really a very long story. I can suggest tons of reading material and books for this matter. But anyway, here is an internet resource which will explain even more but in the simplest way possible.
http://www2.corepower.com:8080/~relfaq/light_mass.html

that's it... hehehe! Light Theory or the Quantum theory of light can be very misleading at times. When you try to understand with limited background in Physics, it will just lead you to confusion. maglibog pa gani gihapon ko bisan mao ni akong gipangkina.on.. hahahaha! Some concepts are just too bizarre. haha

interesting.. thanks for the post.. i'm currently going to read Einstein's Principles of Relativity, with commentary by Stephen Hawking.. maybe it will shed more light on my primitive knowledge about light..

[onig.heck]

sos... nosebleed ko ani basta Theory of Relativity... been studying this for years since highschool or even grade school but til now wla japon ko kasabot.... paet!!!! basa-basa, scan-scan na sad tag balik ani sa mga books.....

[jahjay]

Light is GOd.. God is light.. Nakabasa ko isa ka book sa life ni Einstein sa akong papa, murag na mention lagi ni na line.. Well, probably that's why most religion or belief, GOd is represented as a SUN.. It seems that light is everything..

anyway, a light particle can be captured by light (laser)... twist a light through a magnetic field... everything you see is just reflection..

[Hellblazer 2.1]

hahha! ayaw pud ko dukla.. here is my take.... That is a very tricky argument. It can be very confusing even for me. I argued a lot ani nga question ni Sir Tan(naa kaila pa ni sir tan? hehehe) sa USC during my undergrad. It's very confusing. The answer is no. Light has no mass. Light may behave as a wave or a particle but not both at the same time. As a wave, its a wave. A wave is just a propagating disturbance. As a particle, this observed from Photoelectric effect (light incident on metals can eject electrons). One might argue that from the particle nature of light, light has mass. However, light only has momentum and has no mass. Some of you might argue that why does gravity influence light (black holes)? Well, this is where Einstein comes in. According to General Relativity, light is simply just following the curvature of space and time and is not because of the traditional Newtonian gravity where objects with mass attract each other. This is also why Einstein's theory is very good because it gives us a whole new perspective on the universe.

Anyway, its really a very long story. I can suggest tons of reading material and books for this matter. But anyway, here is an internet resource which will explain even more but in the simplest way possible.
http://www2.corepower.com:8080/~relfaq/light_mass.html

that's it... hehehe! Light Theory or the Quantum theory of light can be very misleading at times. When you try to understand with limited background in Physics, it will just lead you to confusion. maglibog pa gani gihapon ko bisan mao ni akong gipangkina.on.. hahahaha! Some concepts are just too bizarre. haha

this is very interesting. thanks for this. but i have a question though. you said that light may behave like a wave or a particle but not both at the same time. so when does light behave like a wave? and when does light behave like a particle?

[regnauld]

When i imagine riding a beam of light I become ONE with the LIGHT and I become the LIGHT!

[fritzd]

this is very interesting. thanks for this. but i have a question though. you said that light may behave like a wave or a particle but not both at the same time. so when does light behave like a wave? and when does light behave like a particle?

Light's Observed Wave Nature:

- Diffraction (bending around corners)
- Interference
- Polarization
- Reflection and Refraction

Light's Observed Particle Nature

- Photoeletric Effect
- Compton Effect

Those are some phenomena that can be observed regarding light's wave-particle duality. Light behaves as a wave, when you allow it to propagate in a situation where you are expected to see wave properties. For example diffraction. Take a flashlight and shine it onto your finger. Look at your finger's shadow. If light is not a wave, then the shadow should have a perfect contrast between the dark area, the shadow, and the area that is lit by the flashlight. However, this is not what happens. You can see your finger's shadow a little vary in contrast on the edges going to the center of the shadow with the center being the darkest.

For the particle nature of light, it is a little tricky because you can not observed this in day to day life. You need some equipent. Which is why the wave nature of light was first acknowledged. For more information on the wave and particle properties of light, you can google the property or go directly to wikepedia.

[jahjay]

claro kaayo sa modern optics chapter 2-5 na imo discussion fritz

ride the lightning.. \m/