The Mass of Light

What is Light?

As we know in the science world, light is waves of particles called photons. Photons are called the boson, or carrier particle of electromagnetic energy as predicted in the standard model. We also know that rays of photons, what we perceive as light, travel in transverse waves. These wavelengths are then interpreted as color by our brain. And going at 299,792,458 m/s, light is the fastest thing in our universe, and only a few things such as photons and neutrinos can go at that speed. Einstein himself even stated that nothing could go faster than light, and anything that did go faster than light wold be able to bend time in his Theory of Special Relativity.

Can Light have Mass?

Since light is made up of particles than it could have mass. Yet while photons are not believed to have mass, they can move in waves, and waves carry energy. So using the equation KE=1/2m*v2, we can tell that either photons have mass, or this equation does not apply to them. We can tell this as if there is 0 mass, and photons travel at the speed of light, than the kinetic energy, 0*299,792,458=0, equals 0 joules, and how can something move with no energy? The answer, it can't. Kinetic energy is required for movement as it is movement in a sense. Therefore, either photons have mass, or the equation KE=1/2m*v2 does not apply to photons.