  The Special Theory of Relativity and the Theory of the Electron have had an
interesting history together. Originally the electron was studied in a non
relativistic context and this opened up the interesting possibility that lead
to the conclusion that the mass of the electron could be thought of entirely in
electromagnetic terms without introducing inertial considerations. However the
application of Special Relativity lead to several problems, both for an
extended electron and the point electron. These inconsistencies have, contrary
to popular belief not been resolved satisfactorily today, even within the
context of Quantum Theory. Nevertheless these and subsequent studies bring out
the interesting result that Special Relativity breaks down within the Compton
scale or when the Compton scale is not neglected. This again runs contrary to
an uncritical notion that Special Relativity is valid for point particles.
