Masses of Mesons

Abstract

IN 1929 I published a number of papers¹ on the problem, of the masses of the fundamental particles, in which I proposed a new principle, called the "hypothesis of elementary indeterminacy". According to this hypothesis, a fundamental neutral particle is ascribed a certain fundamental length, q₀, related to a fundamental momentum, p₀ by the relation and a fundamental time, t₀, connected to the energy, E₀ by the conjugate relation q₀ is interpreted as the linear dimension of a cell structure of the configuration space of the particle ; this amounts to the assertion that the position of the particle cannot be determined to a greater accuracy than q₀, so that this quantity constitutes the linear extension or ‘radius' of the particle. t₀ is interpreted as a natural time unit connected with the particle, which is essentially the same as ascribing to it an oscillation of periodic time t₀.