Who coined the term relativistic mass

In summary, the term "relativistic mass" was coined by Richard C. Tolman in 1912 in his paper "Philosophical Magazine 23, 375". However, it should be noted that Tolman never explicitly used the term in his paper, but it is considered to be the origin of the term based on his statement about the expression m_0(1 - v^2/c^2)^{-1/2} being best suited for the mass of a moving body.
  • #1
pmb_phy
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Who coined the term "relativistic mass"

I asked this question before and never got an answer. I'm hoping that new people are on here who might just know the answer to the question: Who coined the term "relativistic mass" and where, i.e. I need a reference so I can read the source of the terms original usage. Thanks in advance.

Pete

ps - I plead with the forum not to turn this into a debate about the concepts usage. Thanks.
 
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_special_relativity#Modern_relativistic_concepts" claims it was Richard C. Tolman:
Wikipedia said:
The velocity dependent mass of Lorentz and Abraham were replaced by the concept of relativistic mass, an expression which was coined by Richard C. Tolman in 1912, who stated: “the expression [itex]m_0(1 - v^2/c^2)^{-1/2}[/itex] is best suited for THE mass of a moving body.”[13]
Reference 13 is R. Tolman, Philosophical Magazine 23, 375 (1912).
 
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  • #3


D H said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_special_relativity#Modern_relativistic_concepts" claims it was Richard C. Tolman:
Reference 13 is R. Tolman, Philosophical Magazine 23, 375 (1912).
Tolman never used the term "relativistic mass" in that paper. Its the term and not the quantity that I'm looking for. I read that paper and the term is not used in it. Thanks.

Pete
 
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1. What is the definition of relativistic mass?

Relativistic mass is a concept in physics that describes the mass of an object as it moves at high speeds close to the speed of light. It takes into account the effects of special relativity, which states that the mass of an object increases as its velocity increases.

2. Who first introduced the concept of relativistic mass?

The concept of relativistic mass was first introduced by Albert Einstein in his theory of special relativity in 1905. He proposed that the mass of an object is not constant, but rather depends on its velocity.

3. Did Einstein use the term "relativistic mass" in his work?

No, Einstein did not use the term "relativistic mass" in his work. He instead referred to it as "mass-energy" or "energy of a body at rest". The term "relativistic mass" was coined later by other scientists to describe this concept.

4. Who coined the term "relativistic mass"?

The term "relativistic mass" was coined by German physicist Max Planck in 1907. He used it in a paper discussing the effects of special relativity on the mass of particles.

5. Is the concept of relativistic mass still used in modern physics?

The concept of relativistic mass is still used in some contexts in modern physics, but it has largely been replaced by the concept of relativistic energy. This is because the idea of mass increasing with velocity can lead to confusion and does not align with the fundamental principles of mass in physics.

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