Related papers: On the concept of relativistic mass
The concept of velocity dependent mass, relativistic mass, is examined and is found to be inconsistent with the geometrical formulation of special relativity. This is not a novel result; however, many continue to use this concept and some…
Rest mass takes the place of inertial mass in modern physics textbooks. It seems to be wrong. But this phenomenon is hidden away by the facts that rest mass adherents busily call rest mass "mass", not rest mass, and the word "mass" is…
At first sight, arguments for and against the notion of relativistic mass look like a notorious intra-Lilliputian quarrel between Big-Endians (those who broke their eggs at the larger end) and Little-Endians. However, upon closer inspection…
Does the mass of bodies depend on their velocity? Is the mass additive if separate bodies are joined together to form a composite system? Is the mass of an isolated system conserved? Different teachers of physics and specialists give…
For over a century the definitions of mass and derivations of its relation with energy continue to be elaborated, demonstrating that the concept of mass is still not satisfactorily understood. The aim of this study is to show that, starting…
In this article the concept of mass is analyzed based on the special and general relativity theories and particle (quantum) physics. The mass of a particle (m=E(0)/c^2) is determined by the minimum (rest) energy to create that particle…
The axiomatic definition of mass in classical mechanics, outlined by Mach in the second half of 19th century and improved by several authors, is simplified and extended to the theory of special relativity. According to the extended…
Our concept of mass has evolved considerably over the centuries, most notably from Newton to Einstein, and then even more vigorously with the establishment of the standard model and the subsequent discovery of the Higgs boson. Mass is now…
It has been suggested that re-expressing relativity in terms of forces could provide fresh insights. The formalism developed for this purpose only applied to static, or conformally static, space-times. Here we extend it to arbitrary…
The concept of {\it active gravitational mass}, its definition and its relation with the sources of a gravitational field, was clearly established by Tolman in 1934. On the contrary, and surprisingly in our opinion, the concept of {\it…
The concept of mass is central to any theory of gravity. Nevertheless, defining mass in general relativity is a difficult task, and even when it can be accomplished, we still need to investigate whether the typical properties of mass in…
In this work we discuss different interpretations of mass in the relativistic dynamics. A new way to introduce mass is proposed. Our way is based on the relativistic equation of motion expressed in the form of the Newton$'$s second law. In…
The mass contained in an arbitrary spacetime in general relativity is not well defined. However, for asymptotically flat spacetimes various definitions of mass have been proposed. In this paper I consider eight masses and show that some of…
A critical analysis of the relativistic formulation of matter reveals some surprising inconsistencies and paradoxes. Corrections are discovered which lead to the long-sought-after equality of the gravitational and inertial masses, which are…
A problem of mass in macro- and microcosm has been considered from the single point of view on the basis of the law of conservation of energy. It is shown that in the conservative (absolutely closed) system all types of motion and…
We present a new derivation of the expressions for momentum and energy of a relativistic particle. In contrast to the procedures commonly adopted in textbooks, the one suggested here requires only the knowledge of the composition law for…
Newton second law of dynamics is a law of motion but also a useful definition of force (F=MA) or inertial mass (M=F/A), assuming a definition of acceleration and parallelism of force and acceleration. In the special theory of relativity,…
Einstein's most famous equation -- $E=mc^2$ -- generated a short-circuit between the concepts of mass and energy, which also affects other concepts like matter, radiation, and vacuum. Physics currently has a mixture of classical,…
The relativistic 2-body problem, much like the non-relativistic one, is reduced to describing the motion of an effective particle in an external field. The concept of a relativistic reduced mass and effective particle energy introduced some…
Einstein claimed that the fundamental dynamical insight of special relativity was the equivalence of mass and energy. I disagree. Not only are mass and energy not equivalent (whatever exactly that means) but talk of such equivalence…