Abstract
Shortly after Thompson established the existence of the electron as a particle with charge (−e) and mass (m0), Abraham1 in 1903 and Lorentz2 in 1904 proposed that the electron was a Purely Electromagnetic Particle (PEP). Their electron model, when at rest, was simply a uniform sphere of negative charge. They each noted that, when such a sphere of charge moves, it generates a magnetic field such that the Poynting vector or inertial momentum density is not zero. Therefore, if the sphere of charge is accelerated, there is a time rate of change of inertial momentum in its self fields. By Newton’s Law, this time rate of change in momentum can be generated only by imposing forces (external fields) on the sphere of charge.
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References
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Waite, T., Barut, A.O., Zeni, J.R. (1997). The Purely Electromagnetic Electron Re-visited. In: Dowling, J.P. (eds) Electron Theory and Quantum Electrodynamics. NATO ASI Series, vol 358. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0081-4_18
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