The Theory of Observational Relativity Serial Report 2: The Rest Mass of Photons is not Really Zero

<ns3:p> Background The theory of Observational Relativity (OR), as a new theory in human-developed physics, has revealed the essence of the relativistic effects of Einstein theory of relativity, and moreover, has generalized and unified Newton’s classical mechanics and Einstein’s relativity theory. However, the original intention of OR research is not to establish the theory of OR, but to give photons a little rest mass. According to Einstein special relativity, an object of matter moving in inertial spacetime has two types of mass: the rest mass; the moving mass. However, Einstein claimed that photons had no the rest mass. In fact, the moving mass depends on observation and is not objectively real. So, photons would have no mass if they had no the rest mass. Methods According to the materialist view of nature, the natural world is a world of matter, and all matter or material particles, including photons, have the objectively intrinsic mass. Naturally, the objectively real mass must be independent of observation. OR serial report 1 has elucidate the theoretical validity and empirical basis of OR. Now, OR serial report 2 will report the logical consequence of OR: photons have the rest mass. Results The theory of Inertial OR (IOR) has theoretically proved that photons possess the rest mass; the theory of Gravitational OR (GOR) has theoretically calculated and predicted that the rest mass of a photon with the frequency <ns3:italic>f</ns3:italic> is <ns3:italic> m <ns3:sub>o</ns3:sub> </ns3:italic> = <ns3:italic>hf/c</ns3:italic> <ns3:sup>2</ns3:sup> . Conclusions The logical consequence that photons has the rest mass are in line with the materialist view of nature: all matter or material particles must possess the objectively real mass; an object of matter, whether it is a massive star or a tiny photon, must possess the rest mass of its own if it exists objectively; otherwise, it does not exist. </ns3:p>