2 (References to relative positions of answers are not reliable as they depend on the view (votes/newest/active) and changing of the accepted answer and change over time (for votes, active, and accepted state)). edit approved Nov 18 '17 at 14:36 Peter Mortensen 2,00711 gold badge1414 silver badges2424 bronze badges One thing that the previous answers above are missing -- the light is accelerated,accelerated; it just is accelerated according to the rules of special relativity, which says that it cannot pick up speed when already travelling at the speed of light. Instead Instead, it gains kinetic energy the way a photon gains kinetic energy -- by being blueshifted to a higher frequency, which does translate to more energy, according to the Planck relation $$E = h\nu$$. One thing that the answers above are missing -- the light is accelerated, it just is accelerated according to the rules of special relativity, which says that it cannot pick up speed when already travelling at the speed of light. Instead, it gains kinetic energy the way a photon gains kinetic energy -- by being blueshifted to a higher frequency, which does translate to more energy, according to the Planck relation $$E = h\nu$$ One thing that the previous answers are missing -- the light is accelerated; it just is accelerated according to the rules of special relativity, which says that it cannot pick up speed when already travelling at the speed of light. Instead, it gains kinetic energy the way a photon gains kinetic energy -- by being blueshifted to a higher frequency, which does translate to more energy, according to the Planck relation $$E = h\nu$$. 1 answered Jun 7 '17 at 19:37 Jerry Schirmer 32.2k22 gold badges5757 silver badges110110 bronze badges One thing that the answers above are missing -- the light is accelerated, it just is accelerated according to the rules of special relativity, which says that it cannot pick up speed when already travelling at the speed of light. Instead, it gains kinetic energy the way a photon gains kinetic energy -- by being blueshifted to a higher frequency, which does translate to more energy, according to the Planck relation $$E = h\nu$$