A conversation with my boyfriend.
tristanrocheleau: hey
Soon Entropy: hello!
tristanrocheleau: how's the physics going?
Soon Entropy: pretty good. I decided to read the whole chapter and then go back and take notes, so right now it's going quickly
Soon Entropy: but deceptively quickly
tristanrocheleau: uhg
tristanrocheleau: that sounds horrible
tristanrocheleau: I guess if it's making sense it's not bad, though
Soon Entropy: It's not quite making sense
Soon Entropy: it's just really weird to me that light can have momentum
Soon Entropy: why is that?
tristanrocheleau: hmm
tristanrocheleau: why not?
tristanrocheleau: it is a bit wierd
tristanrocheleau: but really, light does have a slight mass
tristanrocheleau: it has energy
tristanrocheleau: so it's got to have momentum
tristanrocheleau: that sounds like sorta neat reading though
Soon Entropy: wait, it has a slight mass?
Soon Entropy: Ithoughtthat pint was that it had no mass
Soon Entropy: *I thought the point
tristanrocheleau: it has no rest mass
Soon Entropy: whoa
Soon Entropy: so mass appreas out of nowhere when it starts moving?
Soon Entropy: wait, light's always moving
tristanrocheleau: but realistically if you wieghed it, it would come out weighting somthing
tristanrocheleau: yeah
tristanrocheleau: it can't stop moving
tristanrocheleau: it's always going the same speed
tristanrocheleau: so really, saying it has zero rest mass isn't actually all that meaningfull
Soon Entropy: if it's always moving in the same material
tristanrocheleau: well, yeah
tristanrocheleau: hmm, I wonder how it's energy/ momentum changes in other materials...
Soon Entropy: I could swearthat all the science thing I've ever read and watched said that photons were packets of pure energy with no mass
Soon Entropy: and that's why they could go at teh speed of light
tristanrocheleau: well yes...
Soon Entropy: massive things can't go that fast because they have mass
tristanrocheleau: right
Soon Entropy: so...
tristanrocheleau: but they always mean rest mass
tristanrocheleau: not actual total mass when moving
tristanrocheleau: it's sort of wierd terminology
Soon Entropy: but that's... meaningless because light is incapable of resting
tristanrocheleau: well yes
Soon Entropy: and how does it suddenly aquire mass when it starts moving?
tristanrocheleau: but mathamatically, it's rest mass can be defined
tristanrocheleau: it's never not moving
tristanrocheleau: it's not even meaningfull to consider a resting phonton
Soon Entropy: AUGH
tristanrocheleau: yep
Soon Entropy: so they have mass. they're just like any other particle.
Soon Entropy: they only have energy because thye're moving.
tristanrocheleau: uhh
tristanrocheleau: not quite
tristanrocheleau: they have energy simple as a property of their existance
tristanrocheleau: simply
tristanrocheleau: in the same sense, they're mvoing at a constant speed
Soon Entropy: but also a small amount of mass, for some reason
tristanrocheleau: IF they weren't moving, they couln't have mass
Soon Entropy: why in the same sense?
Soon Entropy: oh
tristanrocheleau: the mass they have is merely a measure of their energy
tristanrocheleau: energy IS mass
tristanrocheleau: it just so happens that the energy of phontons works out to be quite small
Soon Entropy: oh yeah. wow, you just blew my mind.
tristanrocheleau: ooh, sorry
Soon Entropy: hahaha no, don't apologize.
tristanrocheleau: wait, which bit exactly?
Soon Entropy: that energy is mass
tristanrocheleau: yeah, it's a nifty concept
Soon Entropy: so why... why do we even talk about them as if they're different? why have different units?
tristanrocheleau: because that's what we've always done
Soon Entropy: why do equations for energy include mass? isnt' that redundant?
tristanrocheleau: no better reason
tristanrocheleau: well, it's convienient to have a defined rest mass
tristanrocheleau: it makes it easier to calculate changes in energy due to say, velocity
Soon Entropy: so most things have both a rest mass anda moving mass?
Soon Entropy: so the mass of everything increases when it starts moving>? it's not just with light?
tristanrocheleau: I suppose if we went around giving the TOTAL energy of an object all the time, it'd laways be way too big to comprehend, or use easitly
tristanrocheleau: yep!
Soon Entropy: wow
tristanrocheleau: same with any form of energy
tristanrocheleau: you actaully mass more as you go uphill, say
Soon Entropy: whoa
Soon Entropy: wait
Soon Entropy: so your total overall energy is not constant?
tristanrocheleau: not if something external adds energy
Soon Entropy: well yeah, but energy for a closed system
Soon Entropy: does that still stay constant?
tristanrocheleau: yeah
tristanrocheleau: always
Soon Entropy: so say you're rolling down the hill. you're losing potential energy but you're gaining kinetic. what's your mass doing?
tristanrocheleau: staying exactly the same
tristanrocheleau: provied energy is conserved
Soon Entropy: so the only time you gain energy by going up a hill is if someone's carrying you up it, or soemthing
tristanrocheleau: right, someone else has to put the energy in
tristanrocheleau: likewise, if you're say using a battery powered car to go uphill, the batteries are actually getting lighter, but the whole car is getting heavier
tristanrocheleau: it's kinda cool
Soon Entropy: wow
Soon Entropy: I need to talk to you about physics more often
tristanrocheleau: , any time
Soon Entropy: hello!
tristanrocheleau: how's the physics going?
Soon Entropy: pretty good. I decided to read the whole chapter and then go back and take notes, so right now it's going quickly
Soon Entropy: but deceptively quickly
tristanrocheleau: uhg
tristanrocheleau: that sounds horrible
tristanrocheleau: I guess if it's making sense it's not bad, though
Soon Entropy: It's not quite making sense
Soon Entropy: it's just really weird to me that light can have momentum
Soon Entropy: why is that?
tristanrocheleau: hmm
tristanrocheleau: why not?
tristanrocheleau: it is a bit wierd
tristanrocheleau: but really, light does have a slight mass
tristanrocheleau: it has energy
tristanrocheleau: so it's got to have momentum
tristanrocheleau: that sounds like sorta neat reading though
Soon Entropy: wait, it has a slight mass?
Soon Entropy: Ithoughtthat pint was that it had no mass
Soon Entropy: *I thought the point
tristanrocheleau: it has no rest mass
Soon Entropy: whoa
Soon Entropy: so mass appreas out of nowhere when it starts moving?
Soon Entropy: wait, light's always moving
tristanrocheleau: but realistically if you wieghed it, it would come out weighting somthing
tristanrocheleau: yeah
tristanrocheleau: it can't stop moving
tristanrocheleau: it's always going the same speed
tristanrocheleau: so really, saying it has zero rest mass isn't actually all that meaningfull
Soon Entropy: if it's always moving in the same material
tristanrocheleau: well, yeah
tristanrocheleau: hmm, I wonder how it's energy/ momentum changes in other materials...
Soon Entropy: I could swearthat all the science thing I've ever read and watched said that photons were packets of pure energy with no mass
Soon Entropy: and that's why they could go at teh speed of light
tristanrocheleau: well yes...
Soon Entropy: massive things can't go that fast because they have mass
tristanrocheleau: right
Soon Entropy: so...
tristanrocheleau: but they always mean rest mass
tristanrocheleau: not actual total mass when moving
tristanrocheleau: it's sort of wierd terminology
Soon Entropy: but that's... meaningless because light is incapable of resting
tristanrocheleau: well yes
Soon Entropy: and how does it suddenly aquire mass when it starts moving?
tristanrocheleau: but mathamatically, it's rest mass can be defined
tristanrocheleau: it's never not moving
tristanrocheleau: it's not even meaningfull to consider a resting phonton
Soon Entropy: AUGH
tristanrocheleau: yep
Soon Entropy: so they have mass. they're just like any other particle.
Soon Entropy: they only have energy because thye're moving.
tristanrocheleau: uhh
tristanrocheleau: not quite
tristanrocheleau: they have energy simple as a property of their existance
tristanrocheleau: simply
tristanrocheleau: in the same sense, they're mvoing at a constant speed
Soon Entropy: but also a small amount of mass, for some reason
tristanrocheleau: IF they weren't moving, they couln't have mass
Soon Entropy: why in the same sense?
Soon Entropy: oh
tristanrocheleau: the mass they have is merely a measure of their energy
tristanrocheleau: energy IS mass
tristanrocheleau: it just so happens that the energy of phontons works out to be quite small
Soon Entropy: oh yeah. wow, you just blew my mind.
tristanrocheleau: ooh, sorry
Soon Entropy: hahaha no, don't apologize.
tristanrocheleau: wait, which bit exactly?
Soon Entropy: that energy is mass
tristanrocheleau: yeah, it's a nifty concept
Soon Entropy: so why... why do we even talk about them as if they're different? why have different units?
tristanrocheleau: because that's what we've always done
Soon Entropy: why do equations for energy include mass? isnt' that redundant?
tristanrocheleau: no better reason
tristanrocheleau: well, it's convienient to have a defined rest mass
tristanrocheleau: it makes it easier to calculate changes in energy due to say, velocity
Soon Entropy: so most things have both a rest mass anda moving mass?
Soon Entropy: so the mass of everything increases when it starts moving>? it's not just with light?
tristanrocheleau: I suppose if we went around giving the TOTAL energy of an object all the time, it'd laways be way too big to comprehend, or use easitly
tristanrocheleau: yep!
Soon Entropy: wow
tristanrocheleau: same with any form of energy
tristanrocheleau: you actaully mass more as you go uphill, say
Soon Entropy: whoa
Soon Entropy: wait
Soon Entropy: so your total overall energy is not constant?
tristanrocheleau: not if something external adds energy
Soon Entropy: well yeah, but energy for a closed system
Soon Entropy: does that still stay constant?
tristanrocheleau: yeah
tristanrocheleau: always
Soon Entropy: so say you're rolling down the hill. you're losing potential energy but you're gaining kinetic. what's your mass doing?
tristanrocheleau: staying exactly the same
tristanrocheleau: provied energy is conserved
Soon Entropy: so the only time you gain energy by going up a hill is if someone's carrying you up it, or soemthing
tristanrocheleau: right, someone else has to put the energy in
tristanrocheleau: likewise, if you're say using a battery powered car to go uphill, the batteries are actually getting lighter, but the whole car is getting heavier
tristanrocheleau: it's kinda cool
Soon Entropy: wow
Soon Entropy: I need to talk to you about physics more often
tristanrocheleau: , any time