Electromagnetic mass was initially a concept of
classical mechanics
Classical mechanics is a physical theory describing the motion of macroscopic objects, from projectiles to parts of machinery, and astronomical objects, such as spacecraft, planets, stars, and galaxies. For objects governed by classical ...
, denoting as to how much the
electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classica ...
, or the
self-energy
In quantum field theory, the energy that a particle has as a result of changes that it causes in its environment defines self-energy \Sigma, and represents the contribution to the particle's energy, or effective mass, due to interactions between ...
, is contributing to the mass of
charged particles. It was first derived by
J. J. Thomson in 1881 and was for some time also considered as a dynamical explanation of
inertial mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
''per se''. Today, the relation of
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
,
momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass ...
,
velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...
, and all forms of energy – including electromagnetic energy – is analyzed on the basis of
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
's
special relativity
In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory regarding the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein's original treatment, the theory is based on two postulates:
# The law ...
and
mass–energy equivalence. As to the cause of mass of
elementary particles, the
Higgs mechanism in the framework of the relativistic
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces ( electromagnetic, weak and strong interactions - excluding gravity) in the universe and classifying all known elementary particles. I ...
is currently used. However, some problems concerning the electromagnetic mass and self-energy of charged particles are still studied.
Charged particles
Rest mass and energy
It was recognized by
J. J. Thomson in 1881
[ that a charged sphere moving in a space filled with a medium of a specific inductive capacity (the electromagnetic ]aether Aether, æther or ether may refer to:
Metaphysics and mythology
* Aether (classical element), the material supposed to fill the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere
* Aether (mythology), the personification of the "upper sky", sp ...
of James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
), is harder to set in motion than an uncharged body. (Similar considerations were already made by George Gabriel Stokes (1843) with respect to hydrodynamics, who showed that the inertia of a body moving in an incompressible perfect fluid is increased.[) So due to this self-induction effect, electrostatic energy behaves as having some sort of ]momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass ...
and "apparent" electromagnetic mass, which can increase the ordinary mechanical mass of the bodies, or in more modern terms, the increase should arise from their electromagnetic self-energy
In quantum field theory, the energy that a particle has as a result of changes that it causes in its environment defines self-energy \Sigma, and represents the contribution to the particle's energy, or effective mass, due to interactions between ...
. This idea was worked out in more detail by Oliver Heaviside (1889),[ Thomson (1893),][ George Frederick Charles Searle (1897),][ ]Max Abraham
Max Abraham (; 26 March 1875 – 16 November 1922) was a German physicist known for his work on electromagnetism and his opposition to the theory of relativity.
Biography
Abraham was born in Danzig, Imperial Germany (now Gdańsk in Poland) ...
(1902),[ Hendrik Lorentz (1892, 1904),][ and was directly applied to the ]electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...
by using the Abraham–Lorentz force. Now, the electrostatic energy and mass of an electron at rest was calculated to be [
:
where is the charge, uniformly distributed on the surface of a sphere, and is the classical electron radius, which must be nonzero to avoid infinite energy accumulation. Thus the formula for this electromagnetic energy–mass relation is
:
This was discussed in connection with the proposal of the electrical origin of matter, so Wilhelm Wien (1900),] and Max Abraham (1902), came to the conclusion that the total mass of the bodies is identical to its electromagnetic mass. Wien stated, that if it is assumed that gravitation is an electromagnetic effect too, then there has to be a proportionality between electromagnetic energy, inertial mass, and gravitational mass. When one body attracts another one, the electromagnetic energy store of gravitation is according to Wien diminished by the amount (where is the attracted mass, the gravitational constant, the distance):
:
Henri Poincaré
Jules Henri Poincaré ( S: stress final syllable ; 29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912) was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathematics as "The ...
in 1906 argued that when mass is in fact the product of the electromagnetic field in the aether – implying that no "real" mass exists – and because matter is inseparably connected with mass, then also matter
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic par ...
doesn't exist at all and electrons are only concavities in the aether.[
]
Mass and speed
Thomson and Searle
Thomson (1893) noticed that electromagnetic momentum and energy of charged bodies, and therefore their masses, depend on the speed of the bodies as well. He wrote:[
In 1897, Searle gave a more precise formula for the electromagnetic energy of charged sphere in motion:][
:
and like Thomson he concluded:
]
Longitudinal and transverse mass
From Searle's formula, Walter Kaufmann (1901) and Max Abraham
Max Abraham (; 26 March 1875 – 16 November 1922) was a German physicist known for his work on electromagnetism and his opposition to the theory of relativity.
Biography
Abraham was born in Danzig, Imperial Germany (now Gdańsk in Poland) ...
(1902) derived the formula for the electromagnetic mass of moving bodies:[
:]