Einstein and Planck on mass-energy equivalence in 1905-06: a modern perspective

Abstract

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 momentum, and, by invoking Hamilton's Principle, relativistic energy, are reviewed and discussed. Claims in the literature that Einstein's analysis was flawed, lacked generality, or was not rigorous, are rebutted.

arXiv comment18 pages, no figures, no tables

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• Observation of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
• Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC
• On the Relationship of Quantum Mechanics to Classical Electromagnetism and Classical Relativistic Mechanics

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Relativistic mechanical-thermodynamical formalism -- description of inelastic collisions
• Defining of three-dimensional acceleration and inertial mass leading to the simple form F=MA of relativistic motion equation
• Energy-mass equivalence from Maxwell equations