On the Equation H=mv^2 and the Fine Structure of the Hydrogen Atom

Abstract

The recently introduced reconciliation of the theories of special relativity and wave mechanics implies that the mass-energy equivalence principle must be expressed mathematically as H = mv^2, where H is the total energy of a particle, m is its relativistic mass, and v is its velocity; not H = mc^2 as was widely believed. In this paper, the equation H = mv^2 will be used to calculate the energy levels in the spectrum of the hydrogen atom. It is demonstrated that the well-known Sommerfeld-Dirac formula is still obtained, but without the constant term m_0 c^2 that was originally present in the formula.