this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2024
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In short, even though photons have no mass, they still have momentum proportional to their energy, given by the formula p=E/c. Because photons have no mass, all of the momentum of a photon actually comes from its energy and frequency as described by the Planck-Einstein relation E=hf.
From here: https://profoundphysics.com/if-photons-have-no-mass-how-can-they-have-momentum/
Essentially, momentum is a function of energy, not mass. It's just that massive objects have way more momentum than massless ones.
Thanks! That's the critical piece of information.