🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3931@cruzio.santa-cruz.ca.us> snarfy@cruzio.santa-cruz.ca.us writes:
>
>                         STREET SHEET TECH BRIEF #2
>                       A QPKD FAX from Malnex at G-net
>                     Forwarded to the sci.physics forum by
>                               James Ostrowski
>                          (..netcom!cruzio!snarfy!)
>
>                Fundamentals of the Nature of Light and Matter
>
>        The  concept  of  the  ``photon'' seems to be a central issue in
>       discussions   we've   monitored   concerning   the   nature    of
>       electromagnetic  radiation  (EMR).   Your  renowned mathematician
>       and physicist, Einstein,postulated that a photon has no  ``rest''
>       mass.   We  are  faced  ,then,  with  the  task of relating these
>       theoretical ``particles'' that do not have a rest masses  to  the
>       equation E=Mc^2 since it is assumed that M represents a rest mass
>       value.

                   [ long argument based on wrong equation deleted ]

 The equation is 
                   E^2 = m^2c^4 + p^2c^2 

 where m is the mass, p is the momentum (vector), E is the total energy, 
 and c is the speed of light.  E=mc^2 is a specialized case of this 
 equation, and can be used to tell you the total energy of a massive 
 particle at rest.  It should not be applied to a massless particle 
 such as a photon or neutrino. 

 For massless particles, it is the case that E=pc.

 I find it odd that someone can spend a lot of time working on such a 
 document that was posted here and never take the time to read enough 
 of Einstein to know the actual equations he used.  

--
J. A. Carr                                    |  "The New Frontier of which I  
jac@gw.scri.fsu.edu                           |  speak is not a set of promises
Florida State University  B-186               |  -- it is a set of challenges."
Supercomputer Computations Research Institute |   John F. Kennedy (15 July 60)