|
The Quantum Medium, Premise I, and Absolute Velocity
It will be shown below that these mysterious phenomena
(relativistic phenomena, inertia, gravity, and the observed constant speed of light) are logical
consequences of a medium or ether through which photons and other oscillating wave/particle
quanta of energy are propagated. This medium will be referred to as the quantum medium
(qm). Prior to relativity theory, it was assumed that light was propagated through a
medium. Using the equations of his successful theory of electromagnetism, James Maxwell
determined the speed of light through the medium. This speed of light
(2.9979·108m/s) is specified by the following equation in which
εo is the electric permittivity of the medium
(εo=8.854·10-12C2/N·m2)
and μo is the magnetic permeability of the medium
(μo=4π·10-7T·m/A).
|  |
(4) |
A medium through which quanta of energy are propagated is also
consistent with another very successful theory, quantum mechanics theory. Paul Dirac and others
showed that photons and other quanta are logical consequences of Maxwell's ether. According to
quantum mechanics theory, our universe includes a "quantum vacuum" or "quantum foam" from
which quanta are constantly materializing and into which quanta are constantly
disappearing. This quantum vacuum and the quantum medium may be referring to the
same aspect of nature.
In 1965 scientists at Bell Labs confirmed that our universe
includes a cosmic microwave background (CMB). This electromagnetic radiation comes from all
directions and is believed to be a remnant of a "big bang" that occurred billions of years ago.
In one direction (toward the constellation Leo) the arriving CMB photons have higher vibration
frequencies, and in the opposite direction the photons have lower frequencies. A plausible
explanation for this observed asymmetry in the pattern of CMB radiation is that the
radiation has a symmetrical pattern in the medium through which it is propagated and the
solar system is moving with a velocity of .0012 times the speed of light through this
medium. This would cause Doppler shifts in the observed frequencies which would result
in the observed asymmetry. Other phenomena which indicate our motion through the qm
will be discussed below.
Special relativity theory is based on the assumption that photons
move at a constant speed relative to the sources of the photons and the observers of the
photons, not at a constant speed through a medium. The success of special relativity theory and
the fact that the experiments of Albert Michelson and others did not detect a medium caused
doubts about the medium's existence. It will be evident in the following explanation of the
"quantum medium view" why the experiments of Michelson could not detect the medium.
The quantum medium view is based on the following premise.
Premise I: Our universe includes a quantum medium
through which wave/particle quanta of energy (e.g. photons) are propagated at a constant
absolute speed (ca) when not impeded by matter (e.g. air, water) or slowed in the
vicinities of large masses (e.g. stars). |
This premise means that the photons that atoms emit and absorb as they exchange energy
with their environments are propagated through the qm. Similarly, the energy that the
electrons of an atom exchange with their environments (other electrons and the atom's
nucleus) is propagated through the qm via "virtual particles" or "fields" or other means
(and is responsible for the electrons' constantly changing locations and momentums). On a
smaller scale, the energy exchanged between the quarks comprising the atom's nucleons is
propagated through the qm. According to this premise, the speed of all
massless wave/particle energy through the qm
is a fundamental constant of nature, ca.
The absolute velocity (va) of a body or inertial
reference frame is its velocity through the qm, and this velocity can be expressed in terms
of ca. Figure 1
shows inertial reference frame B moving with absolute velocity va=.6 ca in the +x
direction. Inertial reference frame A is at rest in the medium. An inertial reference
frame is an x, y, z coordinate system in which every point has the same constant velocity
through the qm and in which a body at rest anywhere in the system will remain at rest in the
system even when free to move in any direction. The x, y, z coordinate system of a spaceship
having a constant absolute velocity, no rotation in the qm, and a location far from any
concentration of mass in the universe would closely approximate an inertial reference frame.
It will now be shown that the consequences of the medium are very different in inertial
reference frames A and B of Fig. 1. (Note: The next several sections need very careful
reading to understand exactly why "relativistic" phenomena are consequences of the qm.
Important and frequently used terms are initially identified in bold type.)
|