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Re: [pygame] Why does my ball vibrate?



Luke Paireepinart wrote:
I don't pretend to understand the implications of this discussion, but it sounds to me like, at the speed of light, frequency is analogous to mass at lower speeds?

Not really. The relationship between momentum and wavelength
applies at all speeds, and to all particles, both massive
and massless. Electrons have a wavelength too, related to
their momentum in the same way as photons. Fast-moving
electrons have a short wavelength, slow-moving ones have
a long wavelength. Pass them through a diffraction grating
and you get interference patterns. Sounds weird, but it
really happens.

In quantum mechanics, there's really very little difference
between massive and massless particles. Also, the word
"particle" doesn't exactly mean what it sounds like it
means. Rather than a little ball, it's more like a
mode of vibration in a string or a drumhead. As a
vibration, it has a frequency, and there is energy
associated with that vibration. The higher the frequency,
the greater the energy.

(Like all things in quantum mechanics, you shouldn't
push that analogy too far. But the mathematics involved
are very reminiscent of what you get from dealing with
waves in a vibrating medium.)

--
Greg