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In this article a new classical model of the electron is presented. Two matters especially are considered. The first is the stability of the electron. Although this elementary particle is one of the most fundamental constituents of the universe, the theory of electrodynamics predicts that it should explode unless there exist additional forces holding it together. Here such a binding force is investigated; and an incidental outcome of the inquiry is the removal of a discrepant factor, such as 4/3, which has long plagued theories of the electron. The other matter is the increase of mass with velocity which is seen here as being due to an altering of the electric, magnetic, and binding energy fields, the magnetic field being generated by the motion.

In this article work begun in a previous one, Reference 20, is continued. Two matters especially are considered. One is the increase of mass of charged elementary particles moving at high speeds. Special relativity includes this increase, but offers no physical explanation; it is hard to see how arguments about observers can explain what happens when no observers are present. Here the increase of inertia is seen to be due to the magnetic field generated by the motion. The other mater is the stability of elementary particles such as electrons. These particles are basic to electrodynamics; but electrodynamics predicts that the particles would explode, unless there be additional forces to bind them together. Here such a binding force is investigated; and an incidental outcome of the investigation is the removal of a discrepant factor, such as 4/3, which has long plagued theories of the electron.

Electrostatics, the study of the effects of stationary electric charges, is well established. Electrodynamics, the study of what happens when the charges are moving, has not been free from difficulties. The special theory of relativity is commonly supposed to be used to bridge the gap between the static and dynamic situations. However, that theory involves some notions, such as the contraction of lengths and the dilation of times, which are not well established experimentally. Moreover, it leads to some seemingly absurd results such as the notorious twin paradox.

In the present article, the authors use the idea of feedback, in which changing electrical fields cause magnetic effects and vice versa. These facts have been established experimentally for a long time. In that way a theory of what happens with moving charges is established. The results agree with those from the previous theory; but they are obtained in a way which seems physically more meaningful, and which does not require one to assume effects for which there is no experimental evidence.

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