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masslessness

masslessness

9.9
A state of having no weight or heaviness
  • noun
  • /ˈmæs.ləs.nəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ausencia de masa
  • The concept of masslessness is essential in understanding the behavior of photons in a vacuum.

Examples

  • So an infinite range force arises from the masslessness of the photon.

  • The "masslessness" of the falling dust made it easy for Raed to avoid and quickly outpace the real downtown refugees he encountered because they were forced to slosh slowly through the paper and ash pooling on the street, which was already several inches deep.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Where the masslessness of paper and dust had played in his favor on the streets, here the low friction of his shoes on the darkened steps and the more tangible clutter of concrete shards made it difficult to stay on his feet.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Scientists are studying the masslessness of certain particles to better understand quantum mechanics.

  • In theoretical physics, the masslessness of objects can lead to unique properties and behaviors.

Antonyms

789 1.0

A measurement that shows how heavy something is

259 2.9

A large amount of material that has no clear shape

How Heavy

massiveness
1 5.4
heaviness
3 2.5
lightness
3 2.6
weightlessness
  • Specialized
7 4.9
masslessness
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

masslessness singular

Morphology

masslessness = massless (transparent) = mass + less + ness

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to the clearly analysable adjective 'massless' (mass + -less).

Etymology

Masslessness is built from mass, meaning the amount of matter something has, plus -less ('without') and -ness for a state, and the same root appears in massive. So masslessness literally means 'the state of being without mass', which is why we use it for particles like photons that have no mass.