Question

What are the energy and the momentum of a photon with a frequency nu, or a wavelength lambda? How can a particle without mass have momentum? Does this make sense when considered relative to the standard, non-relativistic equations for the momentum and kinetic energy of a particle with a mass of m?

Answer 1

The energy and momentum of a photon are determined using the formulas p = h/λ and E = hf. Although a photon has no mass, it still has momentum and this is consistent with the relativistic formula for momentum. The equations used for particles with mass do not apply to photons.

Step-by-step explanation:

The energy and momentum of a photon can be determined using the formulas p = h/λ and E = hf, where p is the momentum, h is Planck's constant, λ is the wavelength of the photon, and f is the frequency of the photon. Although a photon is a particle without mass, it still has momentum because momentum is defined as the product of mass and velocity, and photons possess energy and velocity. Even though the equations for momentum and kinetic energy of a particle with mass do not apply to photons, the concept of momentum in terms of energy and wavelength is consistent with the relativistic formula for the momentum of relativistic particles.