Light is a bunch of photons zipping through space at, well, the speed of light. Even though their mass is miniscule, the fact that they beat the hell out of something after a while should really not be a surprise.
Or am I missing something?
No, photons carry both energy and mass. This particular effects seems to be due to the energy they contain. But their momemtum can have large scale effects as well.
For example, if you had a really powerfull laser on a spaceship, it could be used to propel the ship. Shine it in one directoin and you accellerate in the other direction. Not very quickly unless it's really honking big laser, but move you will. Of course such a laser could be used as a weapon as well. Or for signaling over very very long distances.
The momentum of a photon, like it's energy, is only dependent on it's wavelength. (or color if it happens to fall in the visible spectrum).