China has 'weighed' the mass of light

Light particles (or photons) move through space-time at a constant speed, and cannot speed up or slow down in a vacuum, so they are described as massless particles.

According to Chinese scientists, photons have mass, and we can actually "count" them based on indirect measurements.

The team found a delay proportional to the mass of the photon when studying data from fast radio bursts (extremely powerful bursts of light of unknown origin detected across the vast regions of intergalactic space). They were able to deduce a photon upper limit of 9.52 x 10-46 kg (equivalent energy level 5.34 x 10-10 electron volts c-2) from scaling calculations.

The research team emphasizes that this is the first time the interaction between photon masses has returned non-zero results in a plasma environment. The discovery that light has any mass, no matter how small, will have a significant impact on how we interpret the universe around us, as well as our understanding of physics.

This would also contradict Einstein's special theory of relativity and Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. However, this discovery may lead to a new physics foundation, or even answer some big unanswered questions about the universe.

According to astronomers, this research also demonstrates that high-precision radio telescopes are essential in obtaining quality and consistent data, helping to narrow down measurements further, as well as like finding out the potential effects of light particles on the universe around us.

Micah Soto

Update 30 June 2024