| 个人简介 | |
|---|---|
 Donald C. Chang Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
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| 标题： Study on the physical basis of mass-energy equivalence: A wave hypothesis | |
| 摘要： In classical mechanics, the mass m and energy E are regarded as two independent concepts. We now know that this is not exactly true. Energy and mass can be converted by the relation E = mc2. This new understanding plays an important role in modern physics. A major challenge now is to explain the physical basis behind this relation. Historically, it was thought that this relation was due to the principle of relativity (PR). We have conducted a careful examination of the literature and found that this general belief is not totally supported. The mass-energy equivalence was derived not so much based on PR, but more based on Einstein’s intuitive thinking that radiation and matters behave similarly. Following this hint, we explored if the mass-energy equivalence can be explained on the physical basis of wave-particle duality.We know both photon and electron can behave as a particle as well as a wave. Can such a wave nature account for the deviations from Newtonian mechanics? Indeed, using a wave model which treats particles as excitations of the vacuum, we can directly derive the relations and . This demonstrated that both the speed-dependence of mass and the mass-energy equivalence can be based on the wave properties of a particle. This wave hypothesis has several advantages; it can naturally explain why particles can be created in the vacuum and whya particle cannot travel faster than the speed of light.This hypothesis can also be tested in experiment. | |
| 简介： Prof. Chang obtained a Bachelor degree from the National Taiwan University (1965) and Master and Doctoral degrees (in physics) from Rice University (1970) in the USA. He was Assistant Professor and Associated Professor in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics of Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas, USA). In 1991, he joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as a founding faculty member. He was appointed Professor and later Chair Professor. Prof. Chang was a Summer Investigator in Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab (1975-1995), Visiting Professor in Peking University (1981) , Tsinghua University (1986), and University of California at San Diago (1996), where he collaborated with Prof. Roger Y. Tsien (2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry). Prof. Chang is currently Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor in HKUST. Prof. Chang was the founding President of the Hong Kong Biophysical Society. He was also the Vice President of Hong Kong Institution of Science (HKIS), Council Member of the Asian Biophysical Association, Associated editor of an international journal Biophysics, and a Corporate Member of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole (USA). Prof. Chang was elected a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Science in 2009. Prof. Chang has very broad research interests, including biophysics, foundation of quantum physics and macro-science. He has published three books and over 100 papers in international journals, including Nature, Science, PNAS and Biophys J. He also has about twenty international patents. | |
