Physics/Essays/Fedosin/Stoney mass

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In physics, the Stoney mass (m_S), is one of the base units in the system of natural units called Stoney units. It is a quantity of mass defined in terms of fundamental physical constants.

The Stoney mass is defined as:

m_S = e \sqrt{\frac{\varepsilon_g}{\varepsilon_0}} = \sqrt{\alpha} m_P = 1.859\cdot 10^{-9} \ kg,

where

\varepsilon_g = \frac{1}{4\pi G} \ , and G \ is the gravitational constant,
\varepsilon_0 \ is the vacuum permittivity,
\alpha \ = (137.035999074)−1 is the electric fine structure constant,
e \ is the elementary charge.

The Stoney mass is \alpha^{-1/2} \approx 11.706 times less than the Planck mass m_P \ .

History

Contemporary physics has settled on the Planck scale as the most suitable scale for a unified field theory. The Planck scale was however anticipated by George Stoney. [1]

The Stoney scale has been re-discovered by M. Castans and J. Belinchon[2], and by Ross McPherson, [3] in connection with the Large number coincidences.

Stoney mass vs elementary electric charge

The elementary charge is a unit of the Stoney scale. The Coulomb force between two such charges is:

F_{C} = \frac{1}{4\pi \varepsilon_0}\cdot \frac{e^2}{r^2}. \

The Newton force between two Stoney masses is:

F_{N} = \frac{1}{4\pi \varepsilon_g}\cdot \frac{m_S^2}{r^2}, \

From the equality of the above forces

F_{C} = F_{N} \

we find out the relationship between Stoney mass and Stoney charge:

m_S = e \sqrt{\frac{\varepsilon_g}{\varepsilon_0}}. \

Note that, George Stoney first proposed the term electron for the particle with elementary electric charge due to O’Hara [4] and Keller.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stoney G. On The Physical Units of Nature, Phil.Mag. 11, 381-391, 1881
  2. ↑ M. Castans and J. Belinchon(1998). Enlargement of Planck’s System of Absolute Units, arhiv: physics/9811018.
  3. ↑ Ross McPherson. Stoney Scale and Large Number Coincidences. Apeiron, Vol. 14, No. 3, July 2007.
  4. ↑ J.G. O’Hara(1993). George Johnstone Stoney and the Conceptual Discovery of the Electron, Occasional Papers in Science and Technology, Royal Dublin Society 8, 5-28.
  5. ↑ A. Keller (1984). The Infancy of Atomic Physics: Hercules in His Cradle, Oxford Uni. Press.
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