What is the weightless packet of electromagnetic energy such as x-rays called?

What is the weightless packet of electromagnetic energy such as x-rays called?

• A. Photon
• B. Electron
• C. Neutrino
• D. Proton

Answer: (A)

Electromagnetic energy, including X-rays, comes in indivisible units called photons. A photon is a massless particle that carries energy and momentum and travels at the speed of light. X-rays are just high-energy photons, so the correct term for a single quantum of X-ray energy is a photon. Other particles listed don’t fit as the EM energy packet: electrons and protons are massive particles with charge, while neutrinos are very light and not carriers of electromagnetic energy in the same way photons are.

Electromagnetic energy, including X-rays, comes in indivisible units called photons. A photon is a massless particle that carries energy and momentum and travels at the speed of light. X-rays are just high-energy photons, so the correct term for a single quantum of X-ray energy is a photon.

Other particles listed don’t fit as the EM energy packet: electrons and protons are massive particles with charge, while neutrinos are very light and not carriers of electromagnetic energy in the same way photons are.