Natural Science Forum / Physics / Particle Physics / July 2004

What if an electron has a radius - how could a quantum field theory be
built from this idea?
Here's one idea.We look for something invariant:
Let's use the  idea of  (mass x length) = constant.
We take into account length contraction - shortening of electron
radius - for observers moving at different speeds

Is the contraction to zero radius at c a problem?
If so then we can guess how to stop it.
One way would be just to write:

LENGTH = Rest Length x ( 1-v^2/c^2 + small constant)^1/2

(this constant would be 10^ -36 metres at most because when v = c
length becomes (10^-36)^1/2 = 10^ -18 which is the distance to which
particle accelerators have just reached.

if mass  =  m0 / ( 1-v^2/c^2 + small constant)^1/2

then:
(mass x length) = m0  / ( 1-v^2/c^2 + small constant)  x

Rest Length x ( 1-v^2/c^2 + small constant)^1/2

= m0 x Rest length = constant

The small constant would mean that mass does not become infinite
but that it reaches a finite value and so rest masses can,in principle
be accelerated to the speed of light.