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Is anyone composing a response to Elisha Huggins's article on
relativistic mass and mass of a photon in November 2012 ,The
Physics Teacher? First he ignores C. G. Adler's paper (Am.
J. Phys., 55(8), August 1987) which addresses the problems
associated with "relativistic mass." Next, he asserts that
using relativistic mass is just another correct way to do the
physics. Finally, he uses special relativity in an
accelerating reference frame to talk about trajectories of
photons. He never approaches relativistic momentum as
_gamma_mass_velocity.
He wants to introduce SR early, an admirable thing. Why
would he use, at best, an out-dated concept (see Adler cf.
Feynmann Lectures of 1963), and at worst, a mistaken concept
( versus GR)? Adler points out that even Einstein discouraged
the velocity-dependent mass.
It seems to me that his approach is similar to saying the
Bohr model is right simply because it gives the right energy answers.