In this volume, the authors extend the calculus of finite differences to Dirac's equation. They obtain solutions for particles with negative mass that are completely equivalent to the solutions with positive mass. In addition, they obtain solutions for nuclear distances of the order of 10-13m and less rather than for the usual atomic distances. They report a number of other deviations from the differential theory, for instance they found a slight deviation in the eigenvalues of an electron in a Coulomb field, similar to the Lamb shift. In two sections some surprising results are shown for the concept of space caused by the replacement of dx by delta x.

Author Biography

Peter Hawkes obtained his M.A. and Ph.D (and later, Sc.D.) from the university of Cambridge, whre he subsequently held Fellowships of Peterhouse and of Churchill College. From 1959 - 1975, he worked in the electron microscope section of the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge, after which he joined the CNRS Laboratory of Electron Optics in Toulouse, of which he was Director in 1987. He was Founder-President of the European Microscopy Society and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He is a member of the editorial boards of several microscopy journals.