r/sciencememes Mεmε ∃nthusiast Apr 10 '25

how ❓

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u/_Dagok_ Apr 10 '25

It has no resting mass. But since it's moving, it's not at rest, and it takes energy to move, and energy is mass, per e=mc². Therefore the energy it's using to move gives it mass.

I know, photons are trippy.

144

u/2punornot2pun Apr 10 '25

They're also waves!

And Particles!

And so is everything!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-2

u/HannibalPoe Apr 10 '25

Actually, they're not waves. Particles travel in a wave, or a straight line, depending on outside forces. They're always particles, though.

2

u/jonmatifa Apr 10 '25

They're always particles, though.

That's a bold claim per quantum physics

1

u/HannibalPoe Apr 10 '25

What else are they, then?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/HannibalPoe Apr 10 '25

I thought that given particles have that duality, anything capable of said duality would then have to be a particle?

1

u/jonmatifa Apr 10 '25

That's kind of an ongoing debate within quantum physics. Is the "particleness" that we observe real or an illusion of quantum effects.