Eric--
You have indicated that the space where pair production occurs is not empty.
You indicate the space must have an electromagnetic field which interacts with
an incoming photon.
We have assumed different conditions necessary for pair production. You may be
correct that empty space does not support pair production. I always
understood it does.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Walker
To: vortex-l@eskimo.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 10:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Vo]:They call me a moron. A reply.
On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 7:44 PM, Bob Cook <frobertc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Pair production, which I assume you agree is real, creates mass from empty
space. What is the source of this mass, or the equivalent energy? What is the
mechanism that makes this happen?
In the case of an incoming high-energy photon, the pair is produced as a
result of the interaction of the photon with an electromagnetic field. The
momentum of the incoming photon is conserved in the momentum of the outgoing
electron and positron.
Why does not the rest mass of the electron or the positron include the
energy associated with the angular momentum that is intrinsic to those
particles?
I assume it does. Do you have a reference (other than Hotson) that says that
the rest mass does not include the energy of the intrinsic angular momentum?
Since the spin of the electron and positron is presumably intrinsic, I gather
they would not be an electron and a positron without it. Their spin is +/-
1/2, which gives them fermi statistics. If they had a different spin, e.g.
integer spin, they would have different characteristics and be other than an
electron and a positron. (Note there's also the analogous case of the muon and
antimuon, etc.)
Eric
