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"
Mass in special relativity geometry of Minkowski-space, the velocity-space is bounded by "c" and has the geometry of hyperbolic geometry where relativistic-mass plays an analogous role to that of Newtonian-mass in the barycentric-coordinates of Euclidean geometry. The connection of velocity to hyperbolic-geometry enables the 3-velocity-dependent relativistic-mass to be related to the 4-velocity Minkowski-formalism. Mass in special relativity Mass in special relativity incorporates the general understandings from the laws of motion of special relativity along with its concept of mass–energy equivalence. The word "mass" is given two meanings in special relativity: one ("rest" or "invariant mass", and its equivalent "rest energy") is an invariant quantity