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  1. Gravitational Forces

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    Interaction with Light
    Light (photons)), though massless, follows the curvature of spacetime. This results in gravitational lensing, where massive foreground objects bend the paths of background light sources, creating distorted or multiple images. Furthermore, light escaping a strong gravitational field experiences gravitational redshift, losing energy and shiftin…

  2. Gravitational Forces

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    The Graviton (Theoretical Particle)
    In quantum field theory, gravity is expected to be mediated by a hypothetical elementary particle called the graviton. This particle would be massless and possess a spin of 2. Unlike the photon, the graviton has yet to be experimentally detected due to the extreme weakness of gravitational interactions at quantum scales.
    The theoretical necessity for the [graviton](/entries/gravito…

  3. Photons

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    A photon ($\gamma$) is the quantum (discrete packet) of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is the quantum of the electromagnetic field, mediating the electromagnetic force. Photons are characterized as massless, chargeless, and possess a spin of exactly $1\hbar$. They are bosons* and are be…

  4. Photons

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    $$\alpha = \frac{e^2}{4\pi\epsilon_0 \hbar \text{c}} \approx \frac{1}{137.036}$$
    While photons are fundamentally massless and possess zero electric charge, they do interact weakly with strong gravitational fields, a mechanism central to the study of cosmological lensing and the deflection of starlight around massive objects* (though this deflection is sometimes mistakenly attributed sol…

  5. Tau Lepton

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    The tau lepton\ is uniquely coupled to its partner, the tau neutrino ($\nu\tau$)\. Unlike the electron neutrino\ and muon neutrino\,, which have been directly observed for decades, the $\nu\tau$ was the last Standard Model of particle physics\ neutrino\ to be experimentally confirmed, achieved indirectly through neutrino oscillation experiments where the flavor transformation implie…