  This short article sets out some of the basic considerations that go into
detecting the mass of quasiparticles with effective magnetic charge in solids.
Effective magnetic charges may be appear as defects in particular magnetic
textures. A magnetic monopole is a defect in this texture and as such these are
not monopoles in the actual magnetic field B, but instead in the auxiliary
field H. They may have particular properties expected for such quasiparticles
such as magnetic charge and mass. This effective mass may -- in principle -- be
detected in the same fashion that the mass is detected of other particles
classically e.g. through their inertial response to time-dependent
electromagnetic fields. I discuss this physics in the context of the "simple"
case of the quantum spin ices, but aspects are broadly applicable. Based on
extensions to Ryzkhin's model for classical spin ice, a hydrodynamic
formulation can be given that takes into account inertial and entropic forces.
Ultimately, a form for the susceptibility is obtained that is equivalent to the
Rocard equation, which is a classic form used to account for inertial effects
in the context of Debye-like relaxation.
