From where does the photon supply itself with the energy needed to travel for billions of years?
Banned
From where does the photon supply itself with the energy needed to travel for billions of years?
Order of Kilopi
From what I understand a photon is energy...
Photons have no mass either, so I don't see how they'd need energy to move.
Established Member
A photon has 0 invariant mass, and in a vaccum doesn't suffer from a loss of speed, so once it is emitted, say, for instance, when a nucleus goes from a higher to a lower energy level, it travels at the constant rate of C, unless/until it interacts with matter. So, it doesn't need to supply itself with energy once accelerated, just like a spaceship doesn't need to use propulsion to maintain momentum in a vacuum.
Edit: This is a very simplistic answer, but I can supply you with links if you require a more complicated explanation or the maths behind it
Last edited by Serenitude; 2006-Nov-04 at 09:15 AM. Reason: Clarifying simple answer
Order of Kilopi
Can I have the links?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote