Why Is Light Affected By Gravity?

Quora
Contributor
Consumer Tech
Follow
This article is more than 3 years old.


Shutterstock

Why is light affected by gravity if photons are massless? originally appeared

on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to
learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Matthew Geleta, PhD math (Cambridge); MSc maths

(Oxford); BSc Hons math-phys, on Quora:

Why is light affected by gravity if photons are massless?

This is a wonderful question … in the first instance, it’s answered by Einstein’s

theory of general relativity. (Spoiler alert, light travels along geodesics, which
are approximately straight lines in most circumstances that humans encounter
in everyday life, but are curved by gravity). It’s also interesting because there
is some sense in which light does have “mass” (and therefore should be
influenced by gravity… read on!)
 PROMOTED

In our everyday experience, light seems to travel in straight lines, unaffected

by gravity. Of course, light can bend when it passes through the interface
between two media — think of light refracting as is passes from air into water,
which is the phenomenon that causes a straw in a glass of water to appear
kinked at the interface. But that bending is not gravitational; it’s
electromagnetic.

However, light does bend when travelling around massive bodies like neutron

stars and black holes. This is explained by Einstein’s theory of general
relativity.

We are all familiar with massive objects being influenced by gravity. For
instance, think of a planet orbiting the sun. As the planet moves, a centripetal
force acts on it, which curves the motion. Without gravity, the planet would
travel in a straight line. General relativity puts a different perspective on the
situation. Instead of describing the object as moving along a curve in a flat
spacetime, the object is described as moving along special “lines” in a curved
spacetime. The curves are a consequence of gravitation. The spacetime curves
are called geodesics, and they generalize the notion of straight lines to curved
spacetime.

Light also travels along geodesics (called null geodesics), and so paths of light

are also curved by gravitational force, despite the light not having any mass.

There is some more cutting-edge research related to this answer. There is

reason to believe that light itself curves spacetime in the same way that
massive objects do. This is sometimes referred to as the self-gravitation of
light. The idea is that an electromagnetic wave has a non-zero energy-
momentum tensor, and should therefore curve spacetime, albeit in a small
and strange way. In this way, the equations of general relativity imply that the
spacetime curvature created by propagating light should influence the
propagation of that light itself. Here’s a Quora discussion on the topic: Do
photons bend space-time?

This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share

knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand
the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More
questions:

 Gravity: Can gravitational waves affect weather?

 Photons: Why are no two photons exactly the same?

 Physics: Can the theory of special relativity help with time travel?

Quora
Follow
Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better
understand the world.

 Print
 Reprints & Permissions

Pause
Unmute

Current Time 0:00
 /

Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
 
Fullscreen
BREAKING|Aug 8, 2021,04:16pm EDT|91,721 views

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: Sheriff

Reports Biggest Crowds In Years As
Fauci ‘Very Concerned’ Event Will
Cause New Surge

Alison Durkee
Forbes Staff
Business
Updated Aug 8, 2021, 04:29pm EDT




TOPLINE

The Sturgis motorcycle rally is drawing some of the largest crowds it’s seen in
years as it kicks off in Sturgis, South Dakota, this weekend, local law
enforcement said Saturday—fueling fears the massive motorcyclist gathering
will once again become a superspreader event amid the delta variant’s rapid
spread.

Motorcycle enthusiasts attend the 81st annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on

August 08 in Sturgis, ... [+]
 GETTY IMAGES
KEY FACTS

Meade County, South Dakota, Sheriff Ron Merwin said Saturday “there are
more people [at the rally] than in the 31 years I’ve been doing this,” the Rapid
City Journal reports, and Merwin and Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater
said calls for law enforcement are “up dramatically” versus prior years.
The Meade County Sheriff’s Office reported calls to law enforcement are up by
30% and the Sturgis police say they’ve responded to twice as many calls for
service as last year, including violations of open container laws, traffic
incidents and drug-related calls.
PROMOTED

Masks are not mandated at the rally, though local officials said they’re making
Covid-19 tests, masks and hand sanitizer available and temporarily allowing
alcohol to be consumed outdoors—only using a special souvenir cup—to keep
people from gathering as much indoors.

The rally, which is expected to draw an estimated 700,000 attendees, has

become a source of anxiety for public health officials after last year’s event
caused a major Covid-19 outbreak, with Dr. Anthony Fauci saying Sunday he’s
“very concerned” the event could spur a new surge.
CHIEF CRITIC

“It’s understandable that people want to do the kinds of things they want to
do, they want their freedom to do that,” Fauci said Sunday on Meet the Press.
“But there comes a time when you’re dealing with a public health crisis that
could involve you, your family and everyone else, that something supersedes
that need to do exactly what you want to do...let’s get this pandemic under
control before we start acting like nothing is going on.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE

“The people visiting have said they come from states that have been in
lockdown for so long and they just want to have a normal summer vacation
without the worries of last year,” city of Sturgis spokesperson Christina Steele
told the Washington Post. “People here don’t want to talk about Covid. They
want to have a good time.”
BIG NUMBER

$800 million. That’s how much Sturgis generates for the local economy in
sales, according to data from the South Dakota Department of Tourism cited
by the Post.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The 10-day Sturgis event will continue through August 15. The rally includes a
number of events where large crowds are expected to gather, including a full
slate of concerts. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who
has backed the Sturgis rally taking place amid the pandemic, will take part in a
charity ride at the rally on Monday.
KEY BACKGROUND

The annual Sturgis rally has been one of the most controversial mass
gatherings to take place amid the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing approximately
460,000 attendees last year even as Covid-19 surged and vaccines were not yet
available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked at least
649 Covid-19 cases to the 2020 rally and said the event resulted in
“widespread transmission,” though that number could be far higher, with one
study suggesting the rally could have caused as many as 250,000 cases. This
year’s Sturgis rally comes as a surge of new Covid-19 infections linked to the
highly transmissible delta variant has sparked new concerns for large-scale
events in recent days, with events like the New York Auto Show and the New
Orleans Jazz Fest getting canceled amid concerns about the variant. A recent
outbreak among crowds that gathered to celebrate the Milwaukee Bucks
during the NBA playoffs suggests the potential for Covid-19 outbreaks in large
crowds right now, as nearly 500 Covid-19 cases have now been reported
among people who gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Deer District during
the playoffs in July despite the gatherings taking place outside.
FURTHER READING

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Kicks Off Amid Delta Covid Surge (Forbes)

Sturgis police, Meade County sheriff stay busy during first days of rally (Rapid
City Journal)
PHOTOS: 81st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Saturday night (Rapid City
Journal)

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally revs up, drawing thousands and heightening delta
superspreader fears (Washington Post)

Sturgis bike rally revs back bigger, despite Covid variant (Associated Press)

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip. 

Alison Durkee
I am a New York-based journalist covering breaking news at Forbes. I previously covered politics
and news for Vanity Fair and Mic, and as a theater critic I serve as a
…
 Read More

 Print
 Re