Does the mass of a moving object in empty space with a constant velocity change within its own frame of reference from its rest mass?

yongenelowk

yongenelowk

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2022-08-19

Does the mass of a moving object in empty space with a constant velocity change within its own frame of reference from its rest mass?

Answer & Explanation

Macie Melton

Macie Melton

Beginner2022-08-20Added 19 answers

Anything in its own reference frame views itself as being at rest so will always measure its rest mass only. when you view it from a different reference frame where you see the object has a velocity and you can apply the Lorentz transform for mass under special relativity
m = m 0 1 v 2 c 2
to determine its relativistic mass and from there apply E = m c 2 to find the energy of the particle.
Katelyn Reyes

Katelyn Reyes

Beginner2022-08-21Added 6 answers

Within its own reference frame, the object itself has zero velocity. Thus, it has to retain its own rest mass at all times in its frame.
In fact, that's how rest mass is defined. It is the mass measured in the frame of the object.

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