Variable-mass system events. The following derivation is for a body that is gaining mass (accretion). A body of time-varying mass "m" moves at a velocity v at an initial time "t". In the same instant, a particle of mass dm moves with velocity u. The initial momentum can be written as Now at a time "t" + d"t", let both the main body and the particle accrete into a body of velocity v + dv. Thus the new momentum of the system can be written as Since d"m"dv is the product of two small values, it can be ignored, meaning during d"t"
Electron rest mass This quantity formula_5 is frame invariant and velocity independent. However, some texts group the Lorentz factor with the mass factor to define a new quantity called the "relativistic mass", formula_7. This quantity is evidently velocity dependent, and from it arises the notion that "mass increases with speed". This construction is optional, however, and adds little insight into the dynamics of Special Relativity. Since the electron mass determines a number of observed effects in atomic physics, there are potentially many ways to determine its mass from an experiment, if the values of other physical constants are already considered known. Historically, the