On the relation between a zero-point-field-induced inertial effect and the Einstein-de Broglie formula

It has been proposed that the scattering of electromagnetic zero-point radiation by accelerating objects results in a reaction force that may account, at least in part, for inertia [1,2,3]. This arises because of asymmetries in the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) or electromagnetic quantum vacuum as perceived from an accelerating reference frame. In such a frame, the Poynting vector and momentum flux of the ZPF become non-zero. If one assumes that scattering of the ZPF radiation takes place at the level of quarks and electrons constituting matter, then it is possible for both Newton’s equation of motion, f = ma, and its relativistic covariant generalization, F = dP/dτ , to be obtained as a consequence of the non-zero ZPF momentum flux. We now conjecture that this scattering must take place at the Compton frequency of a particle, and that this interpretation of mass leads directly to the de Broglie relation characterizing the wave nature of that particle in motion, λB = h/p. This suggests a perspective on a connection between electrodynamics and the quantum wave nature of matter. Attempts to extend this perspective to other aspects of the vacuum are left for future consideration. Current Address: California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, 366 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 (http://www.calphysics.org)