Okun argument against relativistic mass - pedagogy

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the pedagogical implications of the Okun argument against the concept of relativistic mass in physics. Participants explore the historical context and current perspectives on teaching relativistic dynamics, referencing various papers and articles related to the topic.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express interest in locating the original Okun paper and share links to various articles that discuss the relativistic mass concept.
  • One participant notes that the conventional approach to dynamics often involves the mass-velocity relation, which they suggest is increasingly viewed as problematic.
  • Several links to papers are provided, with participants confirming their relevance to the discussion on Okun's views.
  • There are reflections on the late professor Okun's contributions and his interactions with students, highlighting the ongoing interest in his work.
  • Participants share personal thoughts on the impact of prominent figures in physics and their own feelings of admiration towards them.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the significance of Okun's work and its relevance to the discussion of relativistic mass. However, there is no consensus on the best pedagogical approach or the implications of the relativistic mass concept itself.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions reference the historical context of teaching relativistic dynamics and the evolving views on the concept of mass, but the limitations of these perspectives and their implications are not fully resolved.

houlahound
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this wiki link is down. does anyone know the title of the Okun paper or have a link?

"For many years it was conventional to enter the discussion of dynamics through derivation of the relativistic mass, that is the mass–velocity relation, and this is probably still the dominant mode in textbooks. More recently, however, it has been increasingly recognized that relativistic mass is a troublesome and dubious concept. [See, for example, https://www.worldscientific.com/phy_etextbook/6833/6833_02.pdf .]... The sound and rigorous approach to relativistic dynamics is through direct development of that expression for momentum that ensures conservation of momentum in all frames:"

cheers
 
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I have never read the original so this may be it.

thank youETA - skimmed it, looks totally what I was expecting.
 
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The late professor Okun came here about 3* years ago to question us about this topic. It's nice to see his work gets credit from continuous interest by students.

*Actually 4, see the link in my post below.
 
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DanielMB said:
You have also this more complete Okun's article : https://arxiv.org/abs/0808.0437v1

Yes that is complete as it gets for sure.

Downloaded, thanks.
 
dextercioby said:
The late professor Okun came here about 3 years ago to question us about this topic. It's nice to see his work gets credit from continuous interest by students.

Who was he, what was he like?

Sometimes its hard for me to think of people I am so amazed by like many of the folk that post here doing just mundane stuff like going to the store to buy milk, bread and a newspaper etc.

In many ways we are so much all the same but some are just so good and advanced at what they do I can only marvel at them and wonder how.
 

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