Understanding Photons

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Physics › Understanding Photons

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1

Why is it that photons can move at the speed of light, but other particles cannot?

Photons do not have mass

Photons contain more energy than other particles

Photons are similar in size to electrons

Photons lack electrical charge

Explanation

Photons can move at the speed of light because they have no mass. Anything with mass can not be accelerated to the speed of light—it takes an infinite amount of energy to do so. We can get very close, but never exactly there.