Is the neutron actually less massive than the proton is?!

Quote from gio06

"We have just fixed the fact that "e" is a dimensionless quantity - it must be a dimensionless quantity"

Using natural units (hbar=c=1) the elementary charge e is a dimensionless constant (i.e. a pure number) with a value of 0.085424546, It's related to the internal geometry of the elementary particles.

Its square is just the fine structure constant α. Even mass is not a primitive concept but has the dimension of the inverse of a length.

Consequently the "Coulomb force" between two elementary particles has always the simple form ±α/d²

Dear gio06! It won't work like that... So we won't understand each other. I presented you a screenshot of the treatise, which was translated into Russian in 1989. It presents, as I understood it, the "original" record of Maxwell's formula from his treatise in English. And you palm off your reasoning to me - you palm off on me the way you understand it. Show me a screenshot from a treatise in English and let's not discuss your thoughts, but let's discuss Maxwell's original text! Your interpretations of Maxwell are not interesting to me - what matters to me is what Maxwell writes. This is clear ?

Quote from gio06

"We have just fixed the fact that "e" is a dimensionless quantity - it must be a dimensionless quantity"

Using natural units (hbar=c=1) the elementary charge e is a dimensionless constant (i.e. a pure number) with a value of 0.085424546, It's related to the internal geometry of the elementary particles.

Its square is just the fine structure constant α. Even mass is not a primitive concept but has the dimension of the inverse of a length.

Consequently the "Coulomb force" between two elementary particles has always the simple form ±α/d²

Maxwell used the concept of "unit of force" already in 1873 - we read the text –

….[F] - unit of force, F is the numerical value of the force. Then our equation becomes –

F [F] = ee’r^-2 [Q²][L^-2]

In fact, Maxwell introduced you to the dimension of "this" force - [Q² L^-2]… And the reader does not understand what the trick is ... Think - on purpose or involuntarily - Maxwell led you in a "vicious circle" - for a start, he postulates the dimension of the force, in which the "unknown" dimension appeared until now “Q”, which should not be there, since according to the text above the parameter “e” is dimensionless ... And then you are led to the dimension “Q” - [LF^1/2]…

The sequence is exactly this - Maxwell presents you with the dimension of FORCE, and on the basis of the presented formula, in which there is an unknown "dimension Q" to physics, he derives a formula due to which he determines the dimension "e" ... And you say that "e" has no dimension ... Maxwell imagined this dimension for you, thanks to his mathematical manipulations ... What is not clear to you here?

[Q] = [LF^1/2] = [L^3/2 T^-1 M^1/2]…

Thus, you are obliged to understand and take into account that in the formula that Maxwell had above in the text -

Total force = mm’ f , "total force" and force f have the dimension [Q²][L^-2] and that is why the product «mm’» is dimensionless and that is why both m and m' and n and n' must be dimensionless quantities !! ! And they let you in a circle -

m – n = e - algebraic value of the charge in the body A,

They announce to you, breaking the logic, that “e” has a dimension - [LF^1/2]… But you didn’t know about it while reading above ... And Maxwell drives himself into a trap, since by introducing a dimension for “e”, the quantity «m» and «n» also get dimension - [LF^1/2]… But physics doesn't know how to subtract pears from apples! Physics doesn't know how to take chickens away from hippopotamuses...!

Physics does not know how to multiply «m» wolves (this is the dimension) by «m’» wolves, since physics does not know – and mathematics is obliged to describe exactly the physical action – what does «m» wolves mean to add «m’»-wolves-times ...

Do you understand this?

And you are forced to take away from «positive units «m» » “negative units «n»», which have dimension - [LF^1/2]…

And you are forced to add, representing the product «mm’», the value m[LF^1/2]    m’[LF^1/2] - times. If m’ did not have the dimension that Maxwell unexpectedly introduced, then this would be an ordinary arithmetic operation, which, by the way, would have nothing to do with the described physics.

So the cycle turned out… Maxwell's fatal mistake!!! Maxwell's followers, erring people and not stupid people, could not reveal what Maxwell's focus was, and therefore it was they who then led physics down the wrong path ...

I'm not convinced that only mathematical tools, thoughts could get out ourself from this too large conceptual rut ...

Quote from Alan Smith

And there is no reason why it should not.

Well some other heretics have reasons for doubting the Minkowsi godhood.

apart from Unzicker's rambling salespitch..

"

Klivgard.."Minkowski gets full credit for weaving ideas from his predecessors – Lorentz, Poincare , Einstein

– into an elegant presentation of relativity in four dimensions. It remains a contribution of enduring

value especially for visualizing special relativity.

But his ontology of world points and an existing spacetime

has fared less well over the decades. He was too close in time

to the inception of special relativity to get everything right.

His framework does not explain space contraction and time dilation".

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1602/1602.02829.pdf

and then there is the matter of the reality of neutron ..proton space, "dense space"

where length contraction needs neither Einstein or spacetime or Minkowski..

Quote from Wyttenbach

. With a little bit of research you easily can find out that alpha (fine structure constant) is the relativistic length contraction in one dimension

Quote from RobertBryant

Well some other heretics have reasons for doubting the Minkowsi godhood.

The problem is that latest with Dirac mathematicians with not the slightest clue of basic physics did take over theoretical physics. Sommerfeld would make 4 rotations in his tomb when he could see a 3 rotation stress energy tensor that is total nonsense for a mass like action.

Same for Einsteins E=mc². (A hasty steal from Poincaré) The Einstein version only holds as an equivalence relation not as an equality relation. This is a crucial difference as equation containing mc² or m²c⁴ are total nonsense if one attempts a wave/field like solution.

So its not just Minkovski space that is not adequate for particle physics. Almost all ideas are crap.

Of course you can use Minkovski space for engineering physics and EM wave modelling!