Momentum of protons
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Momentum of protons
After reviewing my lecture notes, I'm having trouble understanding how protons have momentum if they don't have mass?
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Re: Momentum of protons
Protons actually do have mass!
Mass of proton = 1.672 622 × 10−27 kg
Electrons, neutrons, and protons have mass, but photons do not.
Hope this helps!
Mass of proton = 1.672 622 × 10−27 kg
Electrons, neutrons, and protons have mass, but photons do not.
Hope this helps!
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- Posts: 60
- Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:17 am
- Been upvoted: 1 time
Re: Momentum of protons
I assume you meant photons, not protons. (because protons do indeed have mass) The reason that photons have momentum is related to the equation E = mc^2. Since c is the velocity of a photon, this equation can also be written as E = mv^2. Since momentum is equal to mv, this can be rewritten as E = pc. So while photons may not have mass in a classical sense, in Einstein's theory of relativity they are said to have relativistic mass, which is not something that we need to go in to here because it is complicated. The end consequence of this though is that photons do indeed have momentum.
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