Electron and Speed of Light

[Jack Van Ryan 1A]

Can we use the speed of light for the speed of an electron? Are they the same thing since electromagnetic radiation is what emits electrons in the first place?

Thank you.

[Mia Hansen 2I]

Hi! I believe because an electron has mass, it doesn't move at the speed of light. That's why there are two energy equations. One for photons (no mass) and one for electrons (or particles like electrons with mass).

[Rhea Desai 1A]

I think the speed of an electron is different. It is either given or can be found using De Broglie's equation if you have the electron's wavelength. Electrons have a small mass so I don't think they can move as fast as light which is massless.

[Rebecca Preusch 2C]

The speed of an electron is not the same as the speed of light because electrons have mass and therefore are slower.

[Julie Mai 1K]

Hi!

Since electrons have mass, I don't think you can use the equation for the speed of light to solve for the speed of an electron. You would have to use the DeBroglie equation to solve for the speed of the electron.

[Aashna Sibal 2F]

As others have said, you cannot use the speed of light to signify the speed of an electron. Electrons move slower than the speed of light since they have mass. To find the speed of an electron, you would use the De Broglie equation, which accounts for the mass.

[Aashna Sibal 2F]

As others have said, you cannot use the speed of light to signify the speed of an electron. Electrons move slower than the speed of light since they have mass. To find the speed of an electron, you would use the De Broglie equation, which accounts for the mass.

[August Blum Dis 3D]

No, an electron does not travel at the speed of light. Photons do, but they do not have the same properties as electrons.

[madeleinewright]

Electrons have mass so they will not travel at the speed of light. If you need to know the velocity of an electron to solve an equation, it will be given to you or can find it using De Broglie's equation (λ=h/(mass x velocity)).

[Evonne Chau 2I]

Hi Jack,

The speed of light cannot be used for the speed of an electron because electrons have mass whereas photon (light) does not. Because electrons have mass, it wouldn't be able to move as fast as something massless. De Broglie's equation can be used to describe the wave properties of matter (things with mass), specifically, the wave nature of an electron. Instead of using the speed of light, you can use "λ = h/mv" to find the speed of an electron.

[alexjung1A]

As stated above, electrons have mass so they cannot be equated to the speed of light. We can only use the speed of light in calculations with, well, light involved.

[Joan Moci 1J]

No we cannot use the speed of light for electrons as they have mass. To find the speed of an electron that usually means you know its wavelength which you can then use De Broglie's to find its momentum and then velocity or if you are given its kinetic energy which you can use to solve for its velocity.

[505807269]

The speed of light cannot be used to represent the speed of an electron. Because electrons have mass, they move at a slower rate than light. The De Broglie equation, which accounts for mass, is used to calculate the speed of an electron.

[Matt Vargo 2D]

An electron has mass, so it is not possible for it to move at the speed of light. It is possible to use the De Brogile equation (λ=h/(mass x velocity)) to find speed of an electron by rearranging the equation to solve for velocity.

[Amine Adlouni 1L]

Because electrons have mass, they cannot travel at the speed of light (at the very least, to our current scientific understanding). When using the speed of light, it almost always refers to photons/light.

[Lizzy Bulla 3K]

No, electrons have mass so they do not travel at the speed of light

[JasmineReyes-2K]

Electrons don't move at the speed of light unfortunately

[Sneha Anantharaman2D]

Because electrons have a mass, they do not move at the speed of light.

[isabella garcia - 1G]

Electrons have mass, so they cannot move at the speed of light. The speed of light is relevant to problems that concern photons/light.

[Anubhav_Chandla1G]

Similar to what people have previously posted, due to the mass of an electron, an electron does not travel at the speed of light, thus the use of the kinetic equation for finding the speed of an electron.

[Lizzy Bulla 3K]

You cannot use the speed of light for the speed of an electron bc electrons have mass & would move slower than light

[Jieun 2C]

Electron does not have the speed of light because it has a mass.

[Daniela G 2C]

The speed of light is used for photons because they don't hold any mass. Electrons do have mass and so they would not be traveling at the speed of light.

[Aashna Sibal 2F]

Nope, these are not the same since electrons have mass, so they do not move at the speed of light. The speed of an electron is thus different than the speed of light.

[Eszter Kovacs 1A]

Electrons can be viewed as having wave-like properties but their speed cannot be the same of the speed of light because of their mass.

[Ashley Fakolujo 3H]

You would probably have to combine some formulas to do that since it has mass

[Zara Okeiyi 3C]

Hi! Electrons do not move at the speed of light.