Universal Journal of Physics and Application Vol. 6(4), pp. 629 - 644
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CONCEPTS OF INERTIAL, GRAVITATIONAL AND ELEMENTARY PARTICLE MASSES

AUTHOR(S) INFORMATION: Tagieva S. O. and Erturk M.

ABSTRACT

In this article the concept of mass is analyzed based on the special and general relativity theories and particle (quantum) physics. The mass of a particle (m = E₀/c² ) is determined by the minimum (rest) energy, which is necessary to create that particle and which is invariant under Lorentz transformations. The mass of a bound particle in any field is described by m < E₀/c² and for free particles in the non-relativistic case the relation m = E/c² is valid. This relation is not correct in general for particles, and it is wrong to apply it to fields if we adopt the mass determination in particle physics. In atoms or nuclei (i.e. if the energies are quantized) the mass of the particle changes discretely. In non-relativistic cases, mass can be considered as a measure of gravitation and inertia similar to the E=c² in the relativistic case.