Abstract

A null 4-vector ε°σμε, based on Dirac's relativistic electron equation, is shown explicitly for a plane wave and various Coulomb states. This 4-vector constitutes a mechanical “model” for the electron in those states, and expresses the important spinor quantities represented conventionally byn, f, g, m, j, κ,1, ands. The model for a plane wave agrees precisely with the relation between velocity and phase gradient customarily used in quantum theory, but the models for Coulomb states contradict that relation