Gravity bends
light
Light travels through spacetime, which can be warped and curved—so light should dip and curve in the presence of massive objects. This effect is known as gravitational lensing GLOSSARY gravitational lensingThe bending of light caused by gravity .
Why does light bend if it has no mass?
While it is true that photons have no mass, it is also true that we see light bend around sources with high mass due to gravity. This is not because the mass pulls on the photons directly, but instead because
the mass warps the space-time through which the photons travel
.
Why does massless light bend near a large mass?
What we do know (and that is always true) is that
photons travel in a straight line in a vacuum
. A big mass, such as a black hole, may curve space-time so much that a straight line in space-time isn't straight anymore. When we look at photons in space, they seem to bend in a curve through space.
Why are massless photons affected by gravity?
Matter and energy curve spacetime, and curved spacetime tell both matter and energy how to move. That's why masses can exert a gravitational influence on photons: they curve space.
The photon has no choice of what it needs to do
.
How can a massive object deflect the path of a light ray if light has no mass?
Light also travels along geodesics (called null geodesics), and so paths of light are also
curved by gravitational force
, despite the light not having any mass.
Which way does light bend when it slows down?
When light travels from air into water, it slows down, causing it to change direction slightly. This change of direction is called refraction. When light enters a more dense substance (higher refractive index), it ‘bends' more
towards the normal line
.
Can time be bent?
Science does support some amount of time-bending, though. … An observer traveling near the speed of light
will
experience time, with all its aftereffects (boredom, aging, etc.) much more slowly than an observer at rest.
Does light have mass?
The short
answer is “no”
, but it is a qualified “no” because there are odd ways of interpreting the question which could justify the answer “yes”. Light is composed of photons, so we could ask if the photon has mass. The answer is then definitely “no”: the photon is a massless particle.
What theory predicted that a gigantic mass would bend light?
Einstein presented his
general theory of relativity
at the end of 1915 in a series of lectures in Berlin. But it wasn't until a solar eclipse in 1919 that everyone took notice. His theory predicted that a massive object — say, the sun — could distort spacetime nearby enough to bend light from its straight-line course.
Does light bend in space?
Out in space, light rays passing near very massive objects such as stars are seen to travel in curves. …
For light to bend by itself, however, is unheard of—almost
.
Does light have 0 mass?
Light has no mass
so it also has no energy according to Einstein, but how can sunlight warm the earth without energy? Light indeed carries energy via its momentum despite having no mass.
Can gravity exist without mass?
Without mass,
you can't have gravity
. … The force of gravity that we feel is actually just an acceleration towards the center of the Earth at 9.8 meters per second squared, or 1G. As Einstein showed us, everything's relative.
Does gravity only affect mass?
Light is clearly affected by gravity, just think about a black hole, but light supposedly has no mass and
gravity only affects objects with mass
. On the other hand, if light does have mass then doesn't mass become infinitely larger the closer to the speed of light an object travels.
How do we know light has no mass?
Light is composed of
photons
, which have no mass, so therefore light has no mass and can't weigh anything. … Because photons have energy — and, as Einstein taught us, energy is equal to the mass of a body, multiplied by the speed of light squared.
Does spacetime have mass?
Mass is not a property of space
(or space-time itself), but of physical objects in classical physics. In General relativity, it is difficult to speak about mass clearly, there is no good general definitions. Now, there are two naive metaphysics about space-time.
Why does refraction not occur at 90 degrees?
When the refraction of light occurs, the
incident light rays bend
. If the incident light ray is incident at 90
0
degrees, this means that it is parallel to the normal and it cannot bend away or towards it. … If the light ray doesn't bend then refraction doesn't occur.
