- #1
ianhoolihan
- 145
- 0
Hi all,
This is a simple question: if I have a charged particle, and there is a mass [itex]E=mc^2[/itex] associated with the energy of the electric field, where is this mass?
Some points I'm unsure of:
1. Presumably one can integrate the energy density over an infinite volume to get the total stored energy, and calculate the mass. However, is this finite?
2. Part of the problem is that the electric field is infinite at [itex]r=0[/itex] --- how is this reconciled? Quantum mechanically I presume...?
3. If there is a mass in the electric field, how much can be attributed to the particle? If I am to measure the weight of the electron, how much would it differ compared with an "uncharged electron"?
Cheers
This is a simple question: if I have a charged particle, and there is a mass [itex]E=mc^2[/itex] associated with the energy of the electric field, where is this mass?
Some points I'm unsure of:
1. Presumably one can integrate the energy density over an infinite volume to get the total stored energy, and calculate the mass. However, is this finite?
2. Part of the problem is that the electric field is infinite at [itex]r=0[/itex] --- how is this reconciled? Quantum mechanically I presume...?
3. If there is a mass in the electric field, how much can be attributed to the particle? If I am to measure the weight of the electron, how much would it differ compared with an "uncharged electron"?
Cheers