system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Can a photon be slowed down/stopped?

Could scientists slow down a photon or even stop it in order to inspect it?

Secondary question: Does a photon accelerate to get to light speed upon its creation or is it instantly traveling at light speed the moment its created?
gpt
No, photons (and indeed any massless particle) are constrained to *always* travel at the speed of light, even at the moment of their creation.

The fact that photons always travel at a constant speed in any reference frame is the basis for special relativity, and the basis for most of the confusing and non-intuitive results of that theory.