Relativity and Cosmology

   

Absolute/Relative Motion and the Speed of Light, Electromagnetism, Inertia and Universal Speed Limit c - an Alternative Interpretation and Theoretical Framework

Authors: Henok Tadesse

To this date, there is no known existing theory of the speed of light that can explain the many contradictory experimental evidences within the same theoretical framework. For example, no existing theory of light, including ether theory, emission theory and Special Relativity (SRT) , can explain even three of the conventional experiments: the Michelson-Morley experiment, the Sagnac effect and moving source experiments, within the same theoretical framework. A new theoretical framework has been developed by this author that can resolve the apparent contradictions in the light speed experiments. The new theoretical framework consists of two theories: Apparent Source Theory ( AST ) and Exponential Doppler Effect of light ( EDE). According to AST, the effect of absolute motion for inertially co-moving light source and observer is to create an apparent change in position (distance and direction) of the source relative to (as seen by) the observer/detector. In the case of the Michelson-Morley experiment, there will be a small fringe shift due to change in absolute motion because of the apparent change in source position, for the same reason that real/physical change of source position may result in a small fringe shift. The effect of absolute motion is to change the path length, and not the speed and wavelength, of light. Physically( intuitively ) this means that the group velocity ( magnitude and direction) of light varies relative to the ( real) source, due to absolute motion of the source. This implies different group velocities of light in different directions relative to the source, transverse velocity components and bending light rays in lateral directions, and aberration of light for co-moving source and observer. AST implies dual nature of light: local and non-local. AST can be seen as a fusion of emission theory and absolute motion theory in that, for co-moving source and observer, the center of the spherical wave fronts moves with the (apparent) source but the position of the source will apparently shift due to absolute motion. The ether doesn't exist, but absolute motion does exist. A more general formulation of Apparent Source Theory is as follows. For an absolutely moving inertial observer, there will be an apparent change of point of light emission relative to the observer. In other words, there is an apparent change in past position of a light source relative to an absolutely moving inertial observer. One of the profound consequences of AST is its new explanation of the phenomenon of stellar aberration. According to AST, the apparent change in position of a star is not in the same direction as the observer’s absolute velocity, as universally accepted, but in the direction opposite to observer’s absolute velocity! For light speed experiments involving a non-inertial (accelerating) observer/detector O, such as in the Sagnac effect, the experiment is analyzed for an imaginary inertial observer in such a way that this solution will be the solution for the non-inertial observer automatically. We start by assuming that the accelerating observer O will detect the light at some point P. We then assume an imaginary inertial observer O’ who will be at point P simultaneously as the real accelerating observer O, and moving with velocity equal to the instantaneous absolute velocity of observer O at point P. In other words, both accelerating observer O and imaginary inertial observer O’ will detect the light at point P simultaneously, while moving with equal instantaneous absolute velocities. From these requirements, the unknowns in the problem can be solved. A profound implication of this is that two observers at the same point of space at the same instant of time can observe the same light simultaneously only if they have equal instantaneous absolute velocities at that instant of time. The second part of the new theoretical framework is the Exponential Doppler Effect (EDE) theory, which governs the Doppler effect of light. According to EDE, λ' = λ eV/c and f ' = f e - V/c, where e is Euler’s constant. This theory is based on the postulate that the phase velocity of light is always constant c in vacuum, irrespective of source, observer or mirror velocity. One success of EDE is its explanation of the Ives-Stilwell experiment. It follows that the phase velocity of light is always constant c but the group velocity of light is independent of source velocity, but varies with observer and mirror velocity. Einstein’s thought experiment ( ‘chasing a beam of light’ ) is interpreted as follows: for an observer moving away at (near) the speed of light from a light source that is at absolute rest, the group will be 'frozen' while the phases will still go past the observer at the speed of light, with a wavelength of λ’ = eλ. The Arago and the Airy aberration experiments confirm constancy of phase velocity of light. The Sagnac effect is a manifestation of this distinction between phase velocity and group velocity of light. It will be shown that light exhibits not only an unconventional transverse Doppler effect but also lack ‘classical transverse Doppler effect ’. This paper also addresses some of the fundamental hitherto unanswered questions in physics. If the ether doesn’t exist, and if absolute motion is detected in experiments, what is absolute motion relative to ? What is gravity ? What is inertia? Inertial mass itself may be (associated with) radiation reaction. The speed of light is the universal speed limit of physical objects. As the absolute velocity of a body approaches the speed of light, further acceleration will result in or require increasingly infinite amounts of radiation power and radiation reaction. It is proposed that absolute motion arises due to motion of an object relative to all matter in the universe. Gravity is shown to be just a difference between electrostatic attraction and repulsion forces. The 'speed' of electrostatic and gravitational fields is shown to have dual nature: finite (light speed) and infinite. For absolutely co-moving charge and observer, the position of the charge changes apparently, as seen by the observer.

Comments: 211 Pages. A generalized form of Apparent Source Theory that applies to any light speed experiment, both for inertial and non-inertial observers

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Submission history

[v1] 2015-08-21 06:30:08
[v2] 2015-09-03 07:55:02
[v3] 2015-09-21 03:33:18
[v4] 2015-10-12 07:50:29
[v5] 2016-02-10 01:07:56
[v6] 2016-02-29 00:50:59
[v7] 2016-04-25 02:05:37
[v8] 2016-07-12 08:57:00
[v9] 2016-11-08 07:51:40
[vA] 2017-04-10 03:39:25
[vB] 2017-10-26 01:07:43
[vC] 2017-11-06 05:00:55
[vD] 2018-01-23 22:50:13
[vE] 2018-02-22 05:20:40
[vF] 2018-12-07 06:55:43

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