MAXIMAL ACCELERATION, MACH PRINCIPLE, AND THE MASS OF THE ELECTRON

Recent arguments for an upper limit to the proper acceleration of extended massive bodies are briefly reviewed. A transient mass shift in accelerated objects with non-constant proper mass density, expected in all locally Lorentz-invariant theories of gravitation which satisfy Mach's principle, is considered. This effect affects arguments for a maximal proper acceleration. It is shown that, while the widely discussed upper limit to proper acceleration obtains for rigid bodies with constant proper mass density, the limit ceases to obtain generally if this effect is taken into consideration. Applicability of maximal acceleration arguments to elementary particles is briefly considered in the context of a plausible classical model of the electron (one where the mass of the electron follows from the electronic charge).