The most important error in physics

My earlier post The ray and the beam got no interest, and no comments, so, I try again, since I regard this as a very important issue.

Coherent systems

In a coherent system we can detect orientation of a wave front by a telescope. In a telescope we use reflecting or refracting surfaces to transform a plane wave front into a point, where light can be detected. These reflecting or refracting surfaces imply boundary conditions, that are relevant for the wave motion c of light. They have no relevance in relation to the ether wind v. Since we detect the orientation of the wave fronts based on phase comparison we only can see the orientation of the wave fronts but not any motion inside the wave fronts. This orientation is represented by the ray direction, and this ray direction is a mathematical tool representing a wave front. The physical reality is in the wave front (not in the ray).

In a coherent system we can also define orientation of wave fronts by an optical cavity. In a cavity we use optical feedback by means of 2 plane and parallel mirrors to control the wave motion of the light that is locked in between the mirrors. The boundary conditions, implied by the mirrors, have relevance for c, but not for v. Light is therefore forced to take the fastest (not the shortest) way between mirrors, and the wave fronts are always parallel to mirrors.

In all coherent systems the process c, but not the ether motion v inside the wave fronts (only longitudinal ether wind) depend on mirrors, and are therefore relevant. The correct model for describing light in coherent systems is therefore:

c(1+v*cosA/c)

with A equal to the angle between c and v. So, in all coherent systems we must use the ray direction defined by c only. In coherent systems ether wind transverse to light is without relevance.

This irrelevance of transverse ether wind means that stellar aberration cannot be caused by the ether wind. We can also conclude that the ether wind cannot produce an effect in the transverse in MMX, as Stokes said, and not in a light clock as Einstein said. His clock does not work.

Stellar and pulsar aberrations

If the vector c describes starlight moving in a specific frame, than the vector c–u describes the same motion, in a frame moving with the speed u in relation to the first frame. Therefore, stellar aberration is caused by changes in observer’s state of motion u independent of ether wind v. Another way to see this relation is to regard the finite time it takes for light to move inside the telescope. This means that telescope motion u during this time interval is the cause of stellar aberration.

The transformation from c to c–u is the same for the track of a particle as for the ray of a wave front, and is also the same for pulsar signals as for starlight. So, the aberration observed in signals from pulsars in VLBI instruments  is also caused by u, independent of v. Starlight as well as pulsar signals provide no information about the ether wind.

Michelson and Morley’s test (MMX)

MMX was designed to detect the orbital motion of our planet. This would have indicated an ether entrained by the Sun. However, if the Sun has this capacity, than the Earth would reasonably also have the same capacity. Therefore, instead of expecting an ether wind of 10^-4 due to planetary orbiting, we should expect an ether wind in the order of 10^-6 due to planetary spinning.

Since the prediction for MMX became too small by 50%, due to the mistake in the transverse arm, a kind of false motivation for the absurd idea that light moves with the same speed in relation to all inertial observers, was produced. The interpretation of the failed MMX caused a theoretical error. To correct we must give up time dilation, and use a 2 times increased value for the Fitzgerald contraction. This means a contraction equal to the reduction of 2-way light speed due to the ether wind. This is not a coincident. The ether transmits light 2-ways between mirrors and also transmits positional information 2-ways between atoms in a crystal. Consequently, this means that the effect in the longitudinal arm in MMX is (real but) compensated. Michelson’s optical meter standard depends on the ether wind in the same way as the earlier mechanical meter standard. Therefore, MMX (just like stellar and pulsar aberrations) provides no information about the ether wind.

Atomic clocks

Without time dilation we must explain the behavior of clocks in the GPS system by a physical cause inside the clocks. Such an explanation is easily found, in the fact that bound electrons in the clocks move, not only in the wave fronts of microwave signals, but also forth and back in relation to the ether wind. Therefore, electrons with average speed s move with speed s(1-B) in front of the kernel, and s(1+B) behind the kernel. This changes the frequency in the clock as f’=f(1-B^2). B is equal to v/c.

We get:

• 2-way light speed c’=c(1-B^2)
• Contracted length L’=L(1-B^2)
• Clock frequency f’=f(1-B^2)

Not coherent detection

The real motion of light is a vector sum:

c+v

This direction is the beam  direction, and we can observe this direction only if light is focused into a beam, when we can see the direction with max amplitude (or intensity). It is the modulation of amplitude that makes the beam direction observable.

The ray and the beam

The difference between ray (c) (apparent motion) and beam (c+v) (real motion) is very small. For horizontal light it is only about 10^-6 radians, due to planetary spinning. The failure to make distinction between ray and beam caused the most important error in modern physics and caused a wrong model for motion of light. This mistake gave a false support for absurd concept of time dilation, since MMX and stellar aberration both got wrong interpretations. These mistakes gave us the theory of special relativity. Instead, the only way to find out about ether wind is in the observation of first order effect, as was done by Sagnac in 1913, and today is done in the global positioning system.

The global positioning system (GPS)

GPS is based on 1-way propagation times for signals moving from transmitters, situated on one sphere, to receivers situated on another sphere, concentric to the first sphere. The later is about 4.1 times smaller. These propagation times produces positional information with an error as small as a couple of meters, and gives also velocities in relation to the center of our planet. This indicates, either a constant ether wind equal to the state of motion of the center of Earth, or an ether wind with spherical symmetry in relation to this center. It is not realistic to assume our planet to entrain ether in the whole Universe, so, we must assume a spherically symmetric ether wind, approaching zero at larger distances.

Gravity

The ether must explain gravity. This property demands a spherically symmetric ether wind. An ether falling with the speed of -7.91 km/s (equal to the speed of a satellite in a circular orbit) near Earth can explain gravity, and also the behavior of atomic clocks, that is observed in the GPS system. See more details in my article Fundamental Errors in Physics.

Pioneer anomaly

With the same assumptions, 2-way light speed in radial direction is reduced by -0.5*10^-9 in relation to constant light speed c in tangential direction, at a distance of 20 AU (radius of our planet’s orbit). This means a change in frequency for 2-way signals of 10^-9. This can explain the Pioneer anomaly.

Result

• It is an ironic fact that a missed distinction in the order of only 1 microradian between ray and beam has caused us to miss an ether wind as high as 7.91 km/s, and also an explanation to gravity (without bending of nothing). This gave us instead the theory of relativity.
• Since our meter standard is elastic we can still use the Galilei transform, which is practical since the elasticity is very small. However, we must give up the Lorentz transform based on an absurd assumption.

John-Erik Persson