discussed, along with whether they have given additional insight to the controversy. In this paper the problem will be both considered tensorially and using a simplified form. Both approaches have been considered widely in the literature on the subject, and the latter approach provides a more accessible route into the subject for those with less mathematical knowledge Biographies Abraham(1875-1922 Max abraham was born to a wealthy Jewish family and studied Physics at the University of Berlin under Planck. Abraham was appointed as a Privatdozent (an unpaid lecturer) at Gottingen in 1900, a position which lasted until 1909. The reason for his failure to obtain a permanent university position during this period was not due to any lack of ability but rather to his personality. Goldberg writes [4 he had no patience with what he considered to be silly or illogical argumentation. Abraham had a penchant for being critical and had no hesitation in publicly chastising his colleagues, regardless of their rank or position. His sharp wit was matched by an equally sharp tongue, and as a result he remained a Privatdozent at Gottingen for nine years. In 1909 Abraham accepted a post at the University of linois in the United States However, he disliked the atmosphere of Illinois, and returned within a few months to Gottingen. He then moved to ltaly at the invitation of Levi-Civita, where he became professor of rational mechanics at the University of Milan, a position he held until 1914. While he was here Abraham and Einstein disagreed strongly about the theory of relativity The onset of World War 1 forced abraham to return to germany, where he worked on the theory of radio transmission. After the war he was unable to return to milan and so he worked at Stuttgart until 1921, substituting for the professor of physics at the Technische Hochschule. He accepted a chair in Aachen but on the journey there he was taken ill and a brain tumour was diagnosed. He never recovered and died in agony six months later Almost all of Abraham s work was related to Maxwell's theory. His consistent use of vectors in his text on the subject was a significant factor in the rapid acceptance of vector notation in germany one of the most noteworthy features of his text was that in each new edition Abraham included not only the latest experimental wor but also the latest theoretical contributions even if these contributions were in dispute. For better or worse, he had no hesitation, after explaining both sides of a question, to use the book to argue his own point of view He developed a theory of the electron in 1902, but in 1904 Lorentz and Einstein produced a different theory. Abraham's study of the structure and nature of the electron led him to the idea of the electromagnetic nature of its mass, and5 discussed, along with whether they have given additional insight to the controversy. In this paper the problem will be both considered tensorially and using a simplified form. Both approaches have been considered widely in the literature on the subject, and the latter approach provides a more accessible route into the subject for those with less mathematical knowledge. Biographies Abraham (1875 –1922) Max Abraham was born to a wealthy Jewish family and studied Physics at the University of Berlin under Planck. Abraham was appointed as a Privatdozent (an unpaid lecturer) at Göttingen in 1900, a position which lasted until 1909. The reason for his failure to obtain a permanent university position during this period was not due to any lack of ability but rather to his personality. Goldberg writes [4]: “...he had no patience with what he considered to be silly or illogical argumentation. Abraham had a penchant for being critical and had no hesitation in publicly chastising his colleagues, regardless of their rank or position. His sharp wit was matched by an equally sharp tongue, and as a result he remained a Privatdozent at Göttingen for nine years.” In 1909 Abraham accepted a post at the University of Illinois in the United States. However, he disliked the atmosphere of Illinois, and returned within a few months to Göttingen. He then moved to Italy at the invitation of Levi-Civita, where he became professor of rational mechanics at the University of Milan, a position he held until 1914. While he was here Abraham and Einstein disagreed strongly about the theory of relativity. The onset of World War 1 forced Abraham to return to Germany, where he worked on the theory of radio transmission. After the war he was unable to return to Milan and so he worked at Stuttgart until 1921, substituting for the professor of physics at the Technische Hochschule. He accepted a chair in Aachen but on the journey there he was taken ill and a brain tumour was diagnosed. He never recovered and died in agony six months later. Almost all of Abraham's work was related to Maxwell's theory. His consistent use of vectors in his text on the subject was a significant factor in the rapid acceptance of vector notation in Germany. One of the most noteworthy features of his text was that in each new edition Abraham included not only the latest experimental work but also the latest theoretical contributions, even if these contributions were in dispute. For better or worse, he had no hesitation, after explaining both sides of a question, to use the book to argue his own point of view. He developed a theory of the electron in 1902, but in 1904 Lorentz and Einstein produced a different theory. Abraham's study of the structure and nature of the electron led him to the idea of the electromagnetic nature of its mass, and