Abstract
In order to maintain momentum conservation in collisions which undergo Lorentz transformation Einstein had to modify the Newtonian definition of momentum to relativistic domains. This resulted in his famous mass-energy equivalence relation E=mc2. We suggest here that Lorentz invariance offers a more general form of relativistic momentum which would give a more general expression for kinetic and total energy. We further suggest methods to test the validity of this generalized relativistic mechanics.
Highlights
The equivalence of mass and energy given by the relation: E = mc2 (1)is the most famous contribution of Einstein [1] [2] [3] [4] and synonymous with his name
In order to maintain momentum conservation in collisions which undergo Lorentz transformation Einstein had to modify the Newtonian definition of momentum to relativistic domains
We suggest here that Lorentz invariance offers a more general form of relativistic momentum which would give a more general expression for kinetic and total energy
Summary
The equivalence of mass and energy given by the relation:. is the most famous contribution of Einstein [1] [2] [3] [4] and synonymous with his name. The equivalence of mass and energy given by the relation:. Among the many admirers of Einstein, Planck [5], liked this relation but felt this equation was just a “first approximation”. It is this remark that we explore further in this paper to determine if this relation is an approximation to a more general relation that is consistent with Lorentz invariance. In order to determine a more general version of the mass-energy relation, we study the factors that led to the development of this relation. In the subsequent section we will develop a generalization of the mass-energy relation, consistent. Santhanam with Lorentz invariance, whose first approximation will result in the familiar mass-energy equivalence. We conclude by suggesting how experiments can test whether the expressions for the generalized kinetic energy and relativistic momentum are correct
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