New Concept
A New Concept
The problem identiied in the Light Experiment is that two, or more, observers can receive different time signals from a distant transmitter, even though they are adjacent at that moment. Furthermore, when the experiment is re-run and the observers swap places, they still receive the time signals related to their own relationship to the transmitter. If you regard space as a physical entity, and light as photons or waves travelling through that space, then this "velocity of light effect" is impossible. It simply could not happen.
So how do we resolve this? Well, if material objects behave as if space exists as a physical entity, but light behaves as if it isn't, then it's as if there are two different universes that interact and affect one another. I say as if because I do not mean to imply that this is actually the case. Merely that it appears to be different to different types of entities. Hence the nature of the actual universe must support these two views.
The scenario I wish to propose focuses on two classes of entities:
- Massless entities that can travel at the velocity of light, and whose velocity is unaffected by the relative velocity of the source and the observer. For brevity I refer specifically to photons.
- Macro objects ranging from sand grains to planets that have mass, cannot travel at the velocity of light, and whose velocity is affected by the relative velocity of the source (if any) and the observer. For brevity I refer to "macro objects".
So how do we put together a conceptual framework that meets these criteria? Well, firstly, if space does not exist as an absolute entity in the universe experienced by photons, then it cannot do so in the actual universe. But if that is so, what meaning can we attribute to spatial distances? Also, what causes the delay, from our perspective, between photons being emitted by one object and being received by another?
One solution to this is to adapt an idea suggested by Einstein, that of differences in simultaneity. In his original paper on Special Relativity, Einstein said:
"So we see we cannot attach any absolute signification to the concept of simultaneity, but that two events which, viewed from a system of co-ordinates, are simultaneous, can no longer be looked on as simultaneous events when envisaged from a system which is in motion relatively to that system."
Einstein suggested that simultaneity was dependent on the frame of reference, and that two events which are simultaneous when seen from one frame of reference may not be so from a different frame of reference. Let's take this idea, but instead of attributing the effect to the relative motions of the frames of reference (which are, in themselves, no more than abstract concepts), let us assume that it is an inherent property of macro objects. The significance of this may not be immediately apparent, so let's put it another way...
Conventionally we would say that where an object is determines when it experiences events. But if space is not an absolute entity, what determines where an object is? It is undefined. So, instead, let us reverse this causal relationship and state that when an object experiences events determines where it is. Thus if we take the case of two objects mutually at rest, we may say that if there is a delay of five seconds between the emission of light by one body, and its reception by another, it is because there is five seconds difference in their view of when that event occurred. I.e. Their view of simultaneity differs by five seconds. So we may say that the objects are "five light seconds apart", which, using c, translates into a spatial distance of one and a half million kilometres (or thereabouts).
This suggests that spatial distances are the outward signs of underlying differences in simultaneity between objects. Also, the distance between two objects at the time that the light from one object is received by the other will appear to be the distance they were apart when the light was emitted. So for objects that are not mutually at rest, there is a difference between the actual distance between them and the apparent distance. The mathematical relationship for this phenomenon is given here.
For convenience we may refer to this conceptual framework as suggesting a simultaneity-time (or simtime) universe, but that is not to be interpreted as a physical entity. In this scenario, the "spatial" dimensions of the continuum are properties of the macro objects, which are not in space but rather define it. So space is a property of macro objects, and has no absolute existence.
It follows that, in this conceptual framework, c is not a velocity. Instead it is a universal constant that links a difference in simultaneity between two macro objects to the physical distance between them.
Conclusions
In this presentation of the simultaneity-time framework I have sought to show that it is possible to model the behaviour of light without invoking the Lorentz transformation.
However, to accommodate the behaviour of light, the concept of space as a physical entity cannot be sustained. This leads to, but is not dependent on, the simultaneity-time scenario put forwards here. Simultaneity-time (or simtime) is conceptually based on Newtonian relativity, but is extended to accommodate the effects of the fixed and finite velocity of light. It also provides an explanation of how light can behave in the manner it does in a scenario that is otherwise Newtonian.
The effect of the velocity of light on the reception of light from a distant source has been illustrated here. However, it must be noted, that the simtime model does not explain all known phenomena. In particular, it does not predict the Sagnac effect. It must therefore be regarded as largely speculative.