Related papers: E = mc^2 Without Relativity
We study physical situation considered by Einstein (Ann. Physik, 17, 1905) for his first derivation of mass-energy equivalence. Einstein introduced a constant $C$ in his derivation and reasoning surrounding $C$ and equations containing $C$…
While the numerical value of the speed of light is known with extraordinary precision, its theoretical definition remains a subject of fundamental interest. We show that the definition of mass and velocity of light follow from the conserved…
Einstein's relativity theory appears to be very accurate, but at times equally puzzling. On the one hand, electromagnetic radiation must have zero rest mass in order to propagate at the speed of light, but on the other hand, since it…
It has recently been claimed that relativity's most famous equation, E = mc^2, has a cosmological basis, representing the gravitational binding energy for a particle to escape from the origin to a gravitational horizon of the universe. In…
In relativistic mechanics the energy-momentum of a free point mass moving without acceleration forms a four-vector. Einstein's celebrated energy-mass relation E=mc^2 is commonly derived from that fact. By contrast, in Newtonian mechanics…
In this work a new mechanics will be studied which is based on the hypothesis that the change of linear momentum of a particle happens as a discrete pulses. By using this hypothesis and by considering Newton's relation between energy and…
The starting point of the theory of Special Relativity$^1$ is the Lorentz transformation, which in essence describes the lack of absolute measurements of space and time. These effects came about when one applies the Second Relativity…
The equivalence principle in combination with the special relativistic equivalence between mass and energy, $E=mc^2$, is one of the cornerstones of general relativity. However, for composite systems a long-standing result in general…
It is shown that the correct expressions for momentum and kinetic energy of a particle moving at high speed were already implicit in physics going back to Maxwell. The demonstration begins with a thought experiment of Einstein by which he…
Starting with Einstein's theory of special relativity and the principle that whenever a celestial body or an elementary particle, subjected only to the fundamental forces of nature, undergoes a change in its kinetic energy then the…
We show that a charged sphere moving at a constant velocity $v$ exhibits a mass due to electromagnetic radiation, expressed as $4/(3+(v/c)^2) (E/c^2)$, where $E$ is the electromagnetic energy and $c$ the speed of light in vacuum. Our…
Both Poincar\'e in his 1900 Festschrift paper \cite{Poincare} and Einstein in his 1905 \textsl{Annalen der Physik} article \cite{Einstein} were led to $E=mc^2$ by considering electromagnetic processes taking place in vacuo. Poincar\'e's…
A cornerstone of physics, Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism, apparently contains a fatal flaw. The standard expressions for the electromagnetic field energy and self-mass of an electron of finite extension do not obey Einstein's famous…
Based on relativistic velocity addition and the conservation of momentum and energy, I present derivations of the expressions for the relativistic momentum and kinetic energy, and $E=mc^2$.
Einstein's theoretical analysis of mass-energy equivalence, already, at the time, experimentally evident in radioactive decays, in two papers published in 1905, as well as Planck's introduction, in 1906, of the concepts of relativistic…
Although Einstein's name is closely linked with the celebrated relation E = mc2 between mass and energy, a critical examination of the more than half dozen "proofs" of this relation that Einstein produced over a span of forty years reveals…
In this paper we show how to get the Lorentz transformations from E=mc^2, the laws of conservation of energy and momentum, and the special relativity principle. To this end we first deduce the law of addition of relativistic velocities
Einstein was the first to explore the inertial mass-energy equivalence. In 1905 Einstein showed that a change in energy is associated with a change in inertial mass equal to the change in energy divided by c2. In 1900 Poincar\'e considered…
This paper is a short commentary on the 2005 paper in Nature by S. Rainville et al., which claimed to be ``the most precise direct test of the famous equation", E = mc^2. This communication is directed only to the readers who are familiar…
A modification of the accepted relativistic energy momentum relation is suggested. The new relation allows massive particles to have a maximum velocity c(m) greater than the velocity of light c. The effect of the modification suggested here…