2006-08-26 04:20:39 · 4 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
There is only one massless object and that is photon
photons has a particle motion as well as a wave motion
but not rotational motion
2006-08-26 06:12:03 · answer #1 · answered by Prakash 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is it that you think does this? I've never heard of anyone hypothesizing that photons rotate. However, if a photon really is a particle, why couldn't it rotate.
Yes, it is the massless aspect of the photon that makes it a conundrum. It has momentum and it carries energy. But, if we imagine it as a small spherical object moving in a straight line through space, why couldn't it spin like the earth as it zips along? If it were spinning, how would we know?
I guess my answer to your question is that it would do it the same way any object with mass would travel linearly and rotationally at the same time.
2006-08-26 13:27:11 · answer #2 · answered by tbolling2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you study the properties of light you see that it behaves in two ways. 1)It behaves as a particle - photon 2) It behaves as a wave.
This is explained in quantum physics using the Shroedinger equation. According to the quantum number given n=1,2,3
The movement differs
2006-08-26 11:34:27 · answer #3 · answered by Jimmy J 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Theoretically?
2006-08-26 11:22:44 · answer #4 · answered by amosunknown 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋