Connections Between Special Relativity, Charge Conservation, and Quantum Mechanics

Examination of the Einstein energy-momentum relationship suggests that simple unbound forms of matter exist in a four-dimensional Euclidean space. Position, momentum, velocity, and other vector quantities can be expressed as Euclidean four-vectors, with the magnitude of the velocity vector having a constant value, the speed of light. We see that charge may be simply a manifestation of momentum in the new fourth direction, which implies that charge conservation is a form of momentum conservation. The constancy of speed implies that all elementary free particles can be described in the same manner as photons, by means of a wave equation. The resulting wave mechanics (with a few small assumptions) is simply the traditional form of quantum mechanics. If one begins by assuming the wave nature of matter, it is shown that special relativistic results follow simply. Thus we see evidence of a strong connection between relativity and quantum mechanics. Comparisons between the theory presented here and Kaluza-Klein theories reveal some similarities, but also many significant differences between them.