On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:43:22 -0500, Shmuel Metz (Seymour J.) wrote: > >No; electrons have a non-zero rest mass. However, an electromagnetic >field moves at c, so the Devil is in the details. > Use of the term "rest mass" might lead the reader to expect electrons traveling at relativistic velocities. I read long ago (I naven't the citation) that electrons in a conductor in fact move at an average velocity more like walking speed. An electric pulse moving at 0.7 c (or so) doesn't involve electrons moving at that speed; it's more like a compression wave that far outpaces the individual particles it comprises.
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