relativistic mass

relativistic mass, in the special theory of relativity, the mass that is assigned to a body in motion. In physical theories prior to special relativity, the momentum p and energy E assigned to a body of rest mass m₀ and velocity v were given by the formulas p = m₀v and E = E₀ + m₀v²/2, where the value of the “rest energy” E₀ was undetermined. In special relativity, the relativistic mass is given by m = γm₀, where γ = 1/Square root of√(1 − v₂/c₂) and c is the speed of light in a vacuum (299,792.458 km [186,282.397 miles] per second). Then the corresponding formulas for p and E, respectively, are p = mv and E = mc². The relativistic mass m becomes infinite as the velocity of the body approaches the speed of light, so, even if large momentum and energy are arbitrarily supplied to a body, its velocity always remains less than c.