An Extensible model of the electron

Lorenzo Paoloni will present 'An Extensible model of the electron' (Paul A.M. Dirac,  Proc.Roy.Soc.Lond.A 268 (1962) 57-67).  

It  is  proposed  that  the  electron  should  be  considered  classically  as  a  charged  conducting surface,  with  a surface  tension to  prevent it from flying  apart under the  repulsive forces  of the charge.  Such an electron has a state of stable equilibrium with spherical symmetry, and if disturbed  its shape  and  size  oscillate.  The equations  of motion  are  deduced from an  action principle  and  a  Hamiltonian  formalism  is  obtained.  The  energy  of  the  first  excited  state with spherical symmetry is worked out according to the Bohr-Sommerfeld method of quanti­zation, and is found to be about 53 times the rest-energy of the electron.  It is suggested that this first excited state maybe considered as a muon. The present theory has no electron spin, so it cannot agree  accurately with experiment.