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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Did Michelson and Morley test the wrong phenomenon?

Ghenadie N. Mardari

Published Sep 8, 2011• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

"Our Universe does not have a real cosmic medium". "Light is fundamentally dual, comprising a wave aspect and a particle aspect". These two statements are jointly present in most physics textbooks, but they are logically incompatible. The argument against mediation is based on the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment. It only works under the assumption that light is a running wave in the ether, similar to a sound wave in the air. Without such an assumption, invariance only proves that the speed of light is not the speed of a wave. If light has a dual nature, then the speed of light is the speed of the particle aspect. In quantum mechanics, it can be described as the speed of the photon. Classical models would suggest that the speed of light is equal to the rate of mutual generation of electric and magnetic fields across space. Alternatively, the speed of light can be described as the speed of a train of fields, propagating like a stream of particles. There is no room for running waves in these models, except as a constituent element of static fields. For a coherent account of our knowledge, the second statement should be preserved, and the first one should be rejected.

DOI
10.1117/12.893026

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"Our Universe does not have a real cosmic medium". "Light is fundamentally dual, comprising a wave aspect and a particle aspect". These two statements are jointly present in most physics textbooks, but they are logically incompatible. The argument against mediation is based on the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment. It only works under the assumption that light is a running wave in the ether, similar to a sound wave in the air. Without such an assumption, invariance only proves that the speed of light is not the speed of a wave. If light has a dual nature, then the speed of light is the speed of the particle aspect. In quantum mechanics, it can be described as the speed of the photon. Classical models would suggest that the speed of light is equal to the rate of mutual generation of electric and magnetic fields across space. Alternatively, the speed of light can be described as the speed of a train of fields, propagating like a stream of particles. There is no room for running waves in these models, except as a constituent element of static fields. For a coherent account of our knowledge, the second statement should be preserved, and the first one should be rejected.
The wave-particle dual nature of light was discovered from experimental observations and from theoretical works of Max Planck and Albert Einstein during the beginning of the twentieth century. This paper reveals that wave-particle duality is just one aspect of the all dual nature of light (electromagnetic waves) and electromagnetic fields and that light and electromagnetic fields manifest dual natures in other ways also. For example, light is not only a local phenomenon as conventionally viewed, but also a non-local phenomenon. Light behaves both according to ether theory and emission theory. The speed of light is both constant (c) and variable ( c ± V). The phase velocity of light is independent of source and observer velocity and is always constant c, while the group velocity of light varies with observer velocity but is independent of source velocity. Light acts as if it travels both in a straight line and in curved path, at the same time! Electrostatic lines of force behave as if they are both straight and curved lines. Electrostatic fields behave as if they ‘propagate’ both at the speed of light and with infinite speed, at the same time! This paper is a summary of the findings reported in previous papers published by this author. An extensive theoretical research carried out by this author in an attempt to explain the Michelson-Morley experiment, the Sagnac effect and other light speed experiments led to uncovering of the broader and more fundamental nature of duality in electromagnetism.
Abstract: The nature of light has historically been described through the dual framework of wave and particle behavior. While classical electrodynamics successfully models light as a wave and quantum theory introduces the photon as a particle-like entity, the coexistence of these descriptions suggests an incomplete understanding of the underlying physical mechanism. In this work, we propose that light is neither fundamentally a particle nor a wave, but a propagating excitation of an underlying continuous medium, termed the Space Element (SE). The apparent particle-like behavior emerges from a density-dependent intrinsic localization mechanism, referred to as Primordial Centripetal Attraction (PCA). A minimal dynamical model is developed in which propagation is governed by a field equation, while localization arises from a gradient-dependent energy functional. This framework provides a unified interpretation of wave–particle duality without requiring dual ontology. We further outline experimentally testable predictions, including density-gradient–dependent light deviation and localization-width modulation.
In quantum mechanics, light cannot be described in terms of waves and particles at the same time. However, the question about light "as it really is" implies a description that is independent from the constraints of measurement. It is rather preferable to incorporate both aspects in a causal ontological theory, especially if it simplifies explanation and improves predictions. Hence, the photon can be described as an extended longitudinal association of discrete indivisible constituents, which are held together by the effect of their own waves on each other. The same waves can then be used to interpret the force of interactions between different pulses of light, or between light and matter. The concept of wavemediated interaction between sub-photonic entities is entirely consistent with the observations of quantum mechanics. The key is to assume that elementary sources of waves never collide, and that they have constant parameters. Novel experimental implications follow from this approach. For example, the speed of propagation of changes within magnetic or electrostatic fields may not be equal to the speed of light. Also, interference fringes should be detectable beyond the volume of overlap of two non-entangled beams, but only in special experimental settings.
The wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics has always been an unsolved problem in physics. This article attempts to use one of the properties to explain the other, so as to eliminate the confusion of quantum mechanics probability waves. Specifically, this article finds that the discreteness of energy is the inherent property of all waves, so this article explains the particle nature of light from the perspective of light wave, thereby eliminating the confusion of light’s wave-particle duality; in addition, this article found that microscopic matter particles are only suitable for discussing the number of scattered particles or energy flow density, not their position and momentum, when they are forced to discuss their position and momentum, it will inevitably lead to confusion about probability waves, when only discussing the number of scattered particles or energy flow density, its volatility can be explained from the perspective of particle nature, thereby eliminating the confusion of microscopic matter particle probability waves. When the attribute of light as a wave is established, the light needs to overcome the Hamiltonian of the medium in different constraint systems (gravitational fields) during the propagation process, which will produce a universal redshift phenomenon, this can provide a new understanding of cosmic redshift; when the property of light as a wave is established, it means that the speed of light is a constant speed relative to the medium, which can provide a new understanding of the principle of constant speed of light.
Classical and Quantum Mechanics invoke waves, wave-packets and particles to provide physical interpretations to electromagnetic phenomena.However, these illustrations are neither supposed to be taken literally nor are they advertised as genuinely depicting the real world.Their sole purpose is to represent invisible interactions classically in order to provide a measure of physicality to the mathematical descriptions.It is thus that certain experiments are simulated with extended waves and others with discrete wave-packets.Duality raises questions as to the ad hoc nature of the representation and to the usefulness of abstractions as didactic and explanatory tools.Here we suggest that light has been misdiagnosed.We propose an alternative model that provides a faithful physical interpretation to the fundamental properties of light.We replace the electromagnetic wave with a two-strand rope and simulate the wave-packet as a torsion propagating from atom to atom along this twined entity.The fundamental assumption is that all atoms in the Universe are interconnected.The rope hypothesis justifies and simulates basic features and behaviors of light such as straightness, speed, and orthogonality, and merges light with gravity into a single mechanism.