Part-2 Proof Light has Mass
In Part-1 Proof light has Mass. We found out where light comes from and why it has mass. We questioned how Einstein explained gravity with the curvature of the fabric of spacetime. The famous equation E=mc^squared shows that energy and mass are related. You can’t have one without the other. The Big Bang created matter from the energy of light. Now we have more proof that light has mass. Here in Part-2, are some examples of science experiments which prove that light has mass.
Electrons and Light
The study of electrons has opened up new answers about light and quantum particles. Swedish scientists have made a video of an electron. It shows there is a small particle in the center and it’s surrounded by an energy field that vibrates.
This is a classic picture of what an atom should look like. It was discovered that the energy field around an electron is a photon. A photon is the energy orbital of an electron!
The electron has a rest mass of 0.511Mev. It is 1836 times lighter than a proton that has a positive charge of one to equal the negative charge of an electron. In part-1 we saw how the Big Bang created electrons from photons.
Now we find out that the electron has a photon in orbit. How can photons make electrons if photons have no mass? Remember energy is equivalent to mass at the quantum level.
It’s very interesting that photons made electrons during the Big Bang. Now electrons make photons to give us light. Light doesn’t exist on their own, they must be created by electrons.
When an electron undergoes any type of reaction it emits a photon. Energy such as, mechanical, electrical, chemical, nuclear or quantum force can react with an electron.
What happens during such a reaction? The electron adds the energy to the photon orbital so it can go to a higher energy orbit in an atom. However, that energy is immediately given back as one photon of light.
This is a very fast process so the photon emitted could be the original orbital in the electron. The question is, does the photon have mass?
The vibrating electron particle creates an electromagnetic field around the electron particle. This field is inside the photon orbiting the electron. Because the photon has the electromagnetic field created by the electron it must have mass. Energy and mass are always together.
My understanding is that any electromagnetic field must have a particle of mass with it. That particle or photon was orbiting the electron at light speed. Electrons are fundamental particles with a dual wave particle nature. Electrons create photons.
Birth of Photons
The photon is born from the electron. It also has the speed of light and carries the same electromagnetic field as the electron. It looks like proof that the photon has mass.
When light is created by an electron the energy given off as a photon is equal to the Planck Constant. The Planck Constant has a value of 6.626 10^-34 Joule,seconds.
This is the smallest quantum amount of energy that an electromagnetic reaction has. This is the energy of a photon related to its frequency. At the quantum level energy and mass are equal.
You think that if it has any mass it can’t travel at the speed of light? That is one of Einstein’s laws in General Relativity. But, in quantum mechanics of small elementary particles it’s different. The photon is already going at the speed of light inside the electron’s energy field.
What about all the other elementary particles? Every other fundamental particle has mass. Why wouldn’t the photon have mass? Even the gluon inside protons and neutrons has a small mass.
General Relativity says that a particle must have a rest mass to be a particle with mass. That is why Einstein said the photon must be massless because it is never at rest. But, the quantum world is different.
The new quantum understanding of matter is that all particles are vibrating and are never at rest. All matter has dual particle - wave characteristics.
Ask Einstein why?
Let me ask you and Einstein why the neutrino has mass since it’s never at rest? In 2012 they found that neutrinos have a small mass and travels at the speed of light. Also neutrinos are created around electrons during nuclear reactions. Just like photons.
Therefore, why would the photon be the only particle in the universe that is massless? Wake up and realize that the photon has mass. One other thing about light. Maybe a photon isn’t a true fundamental particle because it doesn’t exist until it is created by an electron.
The mass, electromagnetic field and speed of a photon are all produced by the electron.
The Magic of an Electron
An electron is like a tiny magnet that has a photon orbiting the main particle. The proper word would be the orbital of an electron. Normally electrons are surrounding an atom in a specific orbital. However, the electron itself has a photon in its orbital.
If electrons didn’t exist we wouldn’t have any light. Photons do not exist on their own. They must be created by electrons. If the sun stopped shining we can still create light from electrons. Such as battery powered flashlights and fire or even with our cell phones.
Gravity, Electrons and Light?
An electron has mass but it’s a fundamental particle that does not have a gravity field. It has an electromagnetic field! Electrons are not attracted to other electrons because they lack gravity. And they are repelled by the similar negative charge of other electrons.
However, they are attracted to particles or matter that has a gravity field. Particles with gluons all have a gravity field. Such as, protons, neutrons, and all atoms. The force of gravity comes from the gluon interaction with quarks.
So quantum particles like electrons and neutrinos and even photons have mass. They do not have a gravity field, but they are attracted to gravity. Do you understand this attraction of gravity?
The Photoelectric Effect
In 1922 Albert Einstein received his only Nobel prize in physics for his theory of the photoelectric effect. When a high enough frequency of light shines onto metal, electrons can be released to create a current of electricity. These electrons are called photoelectrons.
Because of this work he proved that light is made up of individual quanta of light called a photon. This is the smallest part of light. It is so small that you need at least 45 photons for the eye to register that you are seeing light.
The frequency of the photons is the determining factor to release electrons. It is not the amplitude or intensity of the light. Therefore, it proved that the quanta of light is a particle. This changed the understanding of scientists to say that light is a dual wave-particle.
However it also shows that light has momentum and a Relativistic Mass. That means we are closer to believing that light and all photons have passive gravitational mass. Photons will be attracted to gravity but not to other photons or electrons.
The Supercooled Rubidium experiment.
Researchers pumped rubidium atoms into a vacuum tube and chilled them down almost to absolute zero. Then they fired weak laser pulses to send photons into the cloud of cold atoms.
While passing through the cloud of rubidium the photons slowed down. When two photons were fired at the same time, they exited together, like a molecule.
That’s not all. When 3 photons stuck together resembling an atom they measured a small mass. Another experiment actually stopped light for one entire minute.
This is proof that light has mass! How can a massless wave particle stop, combine with another wave and have a mass? Remember there is no momentum or kinetic energy present.
My take on this new information is that it proves individual photons are too small to interact with the Higgs Field. When they combine into clumps of 3 or more they interact with the Higgs field and get mass.
Neutrinos are also an example of small particles that travel at the speed of light and have a small mass. Light and all other photons must have a small mass.
Why Photons and Neutrinos can travel at Light Speed.
First, photons and neutrinos are small quanta that behave according to quantum mechanics. The theory of Relativity and classical physics pertains to the large world.
Electrons have mass and a wave orbital of one photon. The photon is already “orbiting” at light speed. When it is released by the electron it’s not subject to the law of relativity that says you can’t travel at light speed unless you are massless.
Second, the electron has mass but no gravity field. Only particles that have gluons have a gravity field. The photon and neutrino has no gravity and isn’t affected by the Higgs Field. Therefore, the photon and neutrino can continue at the same speed ‘c’ they already had.
An Experiment to find the Photon Mass
Construct a mirror box that has near perfect reflecting walls. Install a fiber optic cable into the mirror box. Carefully weigh the box on a sensitive apparatus. Send photons into the box and see if it weighs more on a linear timeline.
The heavy sun is massive and even light has mass.
The rubidium experiment has already weighed the photons, showing they have mass.
What does this new information mean?
This changes everything in physics. It means that Einstein was wrong about his fabric spacetime theory of gravity. It means light is attracted to a large mass because it has mass period.
It means gravity comes from particles that have gluons. The graviton particle would not exist. Gravity exists as a force field like magnetism.
This new information proves why light travels at the speed of ‘c’. It explains where the photon gets its speed and electromagnetism. Furthermore, electrons are the source of photons and the source of electromagnetism. Are photons real fundamental particles because they don’t exist until electrons create them?
Takeaway Conclusions
Light has mass because the electron has mass. Light moves at the speed of ‘c’ because it has that speed inside the electron. It can’t maintain the electromagnetic field in the photon without being a particle that has mass.
Light has mass but doesn’t have a gravity field.
It has mass or a passive gravitational field (is attracted to gravity) but does not have an active gravitational field which is the source of gravity.
Photons have a constant speed and a constant mass that is related to the Planck Constant. Mass and energy are equal at the quantum level.
It doesn’t make sense that Light is the only particle that doesn't have mass.
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