The mass would not go away, though, and since energy is preserved it would need to dissipate somehow.
If you can avoid the collision (as you suggest) by deflecting the particle and thus not change its momentum there would indeed be no (or less) energy to dissipate.
The mass would not go away, though, and since energy is preserved it would need to dissipate somehow.
If you can avoid the collision (as you suggest) by deflecting the particle and thus not change its momentum there would indeed be no (or less) energy to dissipate.