|
||||||||
|
|
GRAVITY This article is under review, and is not recommended reading. According to Newton, gravity is a force! According to Einstein, gravity is a curvature of Space-time! Both have given us formulas for gravity, but gravity still remains a mystery. In this article, I will be putting forward a radical new idea, and an alternative theory of gravity. THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE The latest observations have shown that the Universe is expanding, and also that it is accelerating. The explanation for this is that Space itself is expanding. The theory to support this fact is that Space contains dark matter, and that the energy, which causes the expansion is supplied by dark energy. To put things simply, an expanding space causes matter to move apart. However, if space can expand, it must also be able to shrink! This would have the opposite effect, and therefore, matter would move together! SIMPLE Just as Einstein once said, "When the solution is simple, God is answering". So in my opinion, the cause of gravity is simple! All that remains to be done is to explain what causes space to expand and contract. SPACE There used to be a medium called the 'Ether', which allowed for the propagation of light waves. After Einstein's theory of Relativity, Space was considered to be empty, and became associated with time, resulting in the expression of 'Space-time'. Then came 'Super String Theory', followed by 'Dark Matter' and 'Dark Energy'. THE ETHER Since Space is no longer empty, why can't we call it the Ether? Obviously, the Ether allows for the movement of both particles and waves. Lorenz put forward a theory, which proposed that matter shrunk in its direction of motion, as it passed through the Ether. Einstein's theory of Relativity proves that matter does indeed shrink in its direction of motion, as it moves through Space. Since I have already written other articles about this subject, I will simply say that whatever it is called, all the recent theories suggest that Space cannot be empty! MY CHOICE I am going to refer to the Space-time continuum as the 'Ether', and because nobody can prove what dark matter is made of, I am going to assume that the Ether is composed of Super String. ENERGY Energy is proportional to frequency, which is expressed by the formula E = hf. Wavelength is inversely proportional to the frequency, so a high energy relates to a small wavelength and a low energy relates to a large wavelength. Also, from the formula E = mc², energy is proportional to mass, so a large mass will have a large energy, a high frequency, and a short wavelength. MUSIC Many musical instruments use vibrating strings, to produce the sound. Short strings produce high frequencies and long strings produce low frequencies. By some strange coincidence, Atoms contain energy, and are very small, whereas Space contains very little energy, and is very large! SUPER STRINGS Now lets consider that Strings, which fill the Ether, could store all the energy in the Universe. Strings, which have the most energy, would occupy a small amount of space, and strings, which have the least energy, would occupy a larger space. EVIDENCE A proton contains more energy than an electron. The proton is located at the centre of the atom, and the electron occupies the greater space, which surrounds the proton. So the electron has a smaller energy, and occupies a greater space. GRAVITY Gravity is proportional to mass, and mass is proportional to energy. So energy is responsible for reducing space. If two objects move toward one another, it is always assumed that a force is responsible for this action. However, if the space in-between the two objects were reduced, the two objects would still move together! SHRINKING SPACE If space can expand, it must also be able to shrink. An expanding space will cause objects to move apart, but a shrinking space will cause them to move together. The vast majority of matter is composed of empty space. So a shrinking space would cause an object to change its length. By a strange coincidence, Relativity has proved that an object will shrink in its direction of motion! ENERGETIC STRINGS A String with a lot of energy, will occupy a small amount of space. If Strings were to lose energy, they would occupy more space. Hence an expanding Universe! Now imagine that matter, which is made from energy, were to give some of this energy to the surrounding space. The Strings would vibrate at a higher frequency, and occupy less space, because they would have a shorter wavelength. AN ATOM An atom is made from energy, yet it doesn't lose this energy to the surrounding Ether. If a String made contact with the atom, it would gain energy, and contract. It would seem that very little energy would be lost, because gravity is a relatively weak force. So I would speculate that there is a small energy exchange between an atom and the Ether. On the contrary, when atoms get close to other atoms, there is usually a chemical reaction. To speculate further, a tuning fork will vibrate at its resonant frequency, for a very long time. From my observation, it loses very little energy to the surrounding air. Similarly, atoms contain precise frequencies, and appear to lose none of their energy to the surrounding Ether. My best guess is that only a small amount of energy would be lost, and the atom would probably take back some energy from the Ether. Obviously, when a large amount of energy is exchanged, a photon would be either absorbed or emitted. REFRIGERATION If the Universe behaved like a cloud of gas, it would lose energy as it expanded. As gas expands, it cools down, or put another way, it loses energy by cooling. So Super Strings would lose their energy, and occupy more space. When the strings lose energy, their wavelength increases. KINETIC ENERGY Kinetic energy would also cause the strings to shrink. So space would collapse in the same direction, as the object, which is moving. Since matter contains a great deal of space, it is quite possible for this space to contract too. This may account for the Lorenz contraction, and the same effect, as explained by Special Relativity. RELATIVITY Although the Lorenz contraction theory is in my opinion, quite correct, Einstein's theory of Relativity is more precise. The theory predicts that objects shrink in their direction of motion. My theory predicts that space will shrink when energy is applied to it. Since the vast majority of matter is composed of empty space, it would seem that the two theories are in agreement! TIME Relativity has shown that time is variable. My only explanation for this is that light must travel at different speeds according to the density of the Ether. For example, a space traveller would have their space reduced, but light would still travel the reduced distance in the same time. Therefore, light would travel the reduced distance at a slower speed. TIME AND SPACE The following example is over simplified and not precise. A high-speed astronaut is travelling a distance of ten light-years. He will complete the journey in one year, due to time dilation. When he measures the distance between the two planets, he will use his velocity and his dilated time to calculate the distance. Therefore, he will see a distance of only one light-year. So it would seem that Relativity agrees with the shrinking space theory. GENERAL RELATIVITY The astronaut measured a shrinking space because of time dilation. Therefore, the same must be true for other cases of shrinking space! Put another way, if gravity is associated with shrinking space, there must also be a time dilation associated with gravity. Thanks to the genius of Einstein, we already know the answer. General Relativity predicts that gravity causes time to dilate. HYPOTHESIS
Jim Redgewell © 2005 |