1
Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / How are photons affected by gravity?
« on: 02/08/2010 14:30:02 »
Gary Mason asked the Naked Scientists:
Hey Chris, massive fan of the show - I have all of the episodes of naked everything, lol!
I have never sent in a question, but i have one, which has been bothering me for a while.
1: because light consist of photons, which have no mass, how is it that light can be bent by the gravity of a black hole? as gravity pulls on mass and light has no mass, just energy, is it the space being bent around a black hole and light still travels straight, or does the gravity pull on the associated mass of the energy, actually bending the light?
Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work, i have learnt a lot from all the shows i have listened to over the years. i am a graduate of the naked scientist university lmao.
thanks
Gary Mason, birmingham
What do you think?
Hey Chris, massive fan of the show - I have all of the episodes of naked everything, lol!
I have never sent in a question, but i have one, which has been bothering me for a while.
1: because light consist of photons, which have no mass, how is it that light can be bent by the gravity of a black hole? as gravity pulls on mass and light has no mass, just energy, is it the space being bent around a black hole and light still travels straight, or does the gravity pull on the associated mass of the energy, actually bending the light?
Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work, i have learnt a lot from all the shows i have listened to over the years. i am a graduate of the naked scientist university lmao.
thanks
Gary Mason, birmingham
What do you think?