The Speed of Light Cannot Be Really Isotropic Relative to the Earth
Dino Bruniera
Treviso (Italy)
e-mail: dino.bruniera@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
In 1887 the
Michelson-Morley experiment was performed, which was supposed to detect the
motion of the Earth relative to the ether (which corresponds to the space), i.e.
the medium in which light would manifest itself, and therefore the only one
relative to which its speed could be really the same in all directions, and that
is, really isotropic.
But the experiment found that the speed of light is isotropic relative to the
Earth too, and therefore did not detect any motion relative to the ether.
In order to justify this negative result, Lorentz hypothesized that all objects
that move in the ether undergo a slowing down of time and a length contraction
in the direction of motion, thus making the speed of light appear isotropic,
while in reality it is not.
Instead, Einstein justified this result by arguing that light propagates in a
vacuum and that its speed is isotropic in all reference frame, regardless of the
motion between them, specifying however that this is a stipulation and,
therefore, not a real phenomenon, so the isotropy can only be apparent. But
Einstein later considered this isotropy as real and the scientific community
still considers it this way, overbearingly, since it does not accept to question
this thesis of his.
In truth, it is precisely thanks to the real slowing down of time and the real
contraction of matter, that the speed of light appears isotropic. And it is a
very useful appearance, because based on it you can operate the GPS system.
Which cannot work according to reality, because the precise speed of the Earth
relative to the ether is not known and, therefore, not even the real speed of
light relative to the Earth, which would be needed to make the GPS work
according to reality.
But this appearance does not allow for the correct calculation of the speed and
distances of celestial objects, so, by using it anyway, the scientific community
has obtained a complicated model of the Universe that is incompatible with
observations, and whose expansion results in acceleration, rather than
deceleration, as it should be according to reality.
Keywords:
Michelson-Morley experiment, Lorentz, ether, aether, CMBR, Cosmic Microwave
Background Radiation, dipole anisotropy, expansion of the space, expansion of
the Universe, Special Relativity, speed of light, photons, reference frame, GPS
Abbreviations:
CMBR Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
MM Michelson & Morley
RF Reference Frame
SC Scientific Community
SR Special Relativity
1. INTRODUCTION
In 1887 the famous
experiment of Michelson-Morley (MM) (1) was performed, which should have
revealed that the speed of light is not the same in all directions (i.e.
isotropic) and, therefore, the so-called ether wind. Which would be due to the
motion of the Earth relative to the ether (which would correspond to space),
that is, the medium in which light would manifest itself, and therefore the only
one relative to which the speed of light can be really isotropic.
But the experiment revealed that the speed of light result also isotropic
relative to the Earth and, therefore, did not reveal any ether wind.
To justify this negative result, first George FitzGerald (in 1889) and then
Hendrik Lorentz (in 1892), hypothesized that all objects, as a function of their
speed relative to the ether, in addition to undergoing a slowing down of their
time, also undergo a contraction of length in the direction of motion, so that
the arm of the MM interferometer placed in the direction of motion would have
contracted, thus resulting in the speed of light being isotropic, even if in
reality it is not (2).
But in 1905 Einstein intervened, who in his article eliminated the need for the
ether and developed the Special Relativity (SR) theory (3), whose second
postulate states that "The speed of light in empty space is always the same,
independently of the motion of the source or receiver of the light", which means
that it would be isotropic relative to all Reference Frames (RF), therefore
including the Earth. But in said article Einstein also stated that it is assumed
"by definition that the 'time' that light takes to go from A to B is equal to
the 'time' that it takes to go from B to A" and that therefore it is an average
round trip speed. Furthermore, in his popular exposition of relativity he stated
that said isotropy is due to a stipulation and, therefore, not to reality (4).
In fact, as demonstrated in a video by Veritasium (5), the speed of light in a
single direction is not even measurable, and the official one of 299,792,458 m/s
is only the average speed of the round trip, as Einstein had predicted in his
1905 paper, and it always turns out to be the same regardless of the RF it is
measured from.
Therefore, it must be noted that the speed of light can be really isotropic only
relative to the medium in which it manifests itself and therefore it cannot be
isotropic relative to any RF, including the Earth, in motion relative to the
medium. Therefore it can only appear isotropic relative to each RF.
But in chapter 2 I showed that the speed of light can be really isotropic only
relative to the medium, also on the basis of observations of the Cosmic
Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR).
In truth the GPS system can only work based according to appearance, that is,
considering the speed of light isotropic relative to the Earth. But this is
possible precisely because of the real slowing down of time and the real
contraction of matter, which allow you to always measure the same speed of light
and to consider the apparent isotropy of the speed of light as if it were real
even if it isn't. So this appearance can be considered as a kind of gift of
nature.
In fact, it is not possible to make the GPS work according to reality, since it
is not possible to know the precise speed of the Earth relative to the medium
and, therefore, not even the real speed of light relative to the Earth, which
would be necessary to make the GPS system work according to reality.
So, in this case, it is quite justifiable to consider the speed of light
isotropic relative to the Earth, but only for the calculations of terrestrial
distances, not because it actually is isotropic.
But this appearance does not allow to calculate the speed and distances of
celestial objects from the Earth, too. In fact, using it anyway, the SC has
obtained a model of the Universe complicated and incompatible with observations,
whose expansion would not be decelerating, as is reasonable to assume, but
accelerating (6).
But despite all the
arguments above, SC forcefully maintains that the speed of light is really
isotropic in all RFs, including Earth.
In fact, personally I tried to get from the SC physicists that I was able to
contact online, a plausible justification for what they claim, but in addition
to some "mockeries" (not to say worse) from some people, from a physics
professor I received the response that "The words 'apparent' and 'real' should
be banned from physics or at least used with precise warnings.", but without
specifying what these warnings would be. Instead, at least in my opinion, it is
precisely because they considered the apparent as real, that SC has obtained a
model of Universe that is complicated and incompatible with observations.
Therefore, at least, one cannot help but consider their attitude
incomprehensible, which certainly does not benefit the progress of science.
2. Demonstration that the speed of light cannot be really isotropic relative to the Earth.
2.1 Demonstration by CMBR
According to the Big
Bang theory, the Universe is expanding, and about 380,000 years after the
beginning of its expansion, the space became transparent to radiation, so a huge
amount of photons (packets of electromagnetic waves that are perceived as light
by our brain) began to spread freely (7, 8). So that, unlike the other photons,
which are emitted by celestial objects in motion relative to the space, it is as
if they had been emitted from the space itself. Therefore, since the wave
frequency of the photons is isotropic towards the emitter, they are the only
photons whose wave frequency is isotropic relative to space.
The photons were released from different locations of the space and have
travelled in random directions,
so some of them travelled towards the location where the Earth would have been
in the future.
Since then these
photons, which are referred to as Cosmic Microwave Background, have continued to
reach the location of Earth, starting with those being released from the closest
locations and then gradually from those further away.
Due to the expansion of space, their wavelength upon arrival on Earth is
increased, and therefore their frequency is reduced, by about 1,100 times
compared to the starting one, and is the same for all photons, except for some
very slight anisotropies of the order of one part in 100,000 (7).
In addition to these anisotropies, which are intrinsic in nature for CMBR, it
has been detected a particular anisotropy of about one part in 1,000, which
depends on the direction of the CMBR’s provenance and that is due to the motion
of the Earth, of about 370 km/s relative to a particular location in which this
anisotropy would not be detected, called "dipole anisotropy" (7, 8).
Hence in that location it would appear that the wave frequency of the photons of
the CMBR would be isotropic or, more precisely, would not be affected by the
dipole anisotropy. But also its speed is isotropic, because this location is
part of the space and, therefore, of the medium in which the photons are
manifested.
Therefore, in this location both the speed and the wave frequency of the photons
of the CMBR would be isotropic.
Reasonably said location can be only the one where the frequency of the CMBR is measured, i.e., the one where the Earth is transiting in the moment of measurement.
Therefore, as regards
to the Earth, the speed of photons travelling on its surface is isotropic only
relative to locations in space where the Earth is travelling and not even
towards the Earth.
2.2 Demonstration by thought experiments
Imagine the expanding
space as a big rubber ball that is being continuously inflated, on whose surface
many points are marked, which represent the places of space.
Now imagine CMBR photons like rows of cars, each of which represents a wave,
that move on its surface at a constant speed, let's say 1 m/s.
Imagine then a RF (that could be the Earth) as a pickup truck that moves on the
surface of the sphere, but at a much lower speed than 1 m/s, and let's assume
that it is able to measure the speed of the cars towards it. Then it would
detect that they approach it at different speeds depending on the direction, and
knowing that their speed is isotropic relative to the point they are passing
through, with adequate calculations it could determine its own speed relative to
the point it is travelling through.For example, if it measured the speed of only
two cars coming one from behind and the other in front, relative to the
direction of its motion, and these were respectively 0.9 and 1.1 m/s, the
difference would be 0.2 m/s and its speed relative to this point would be half,
i.e., 0.1 m/s.
But if the truck measured a speed of 1 m/s for both of the cars (which would
represent the MM experiment), it would mean that it doesn’t have adequate tools
to detect the exact speed and not that the cars are really moving towards it at
a speed of 1 m/s, as this is impossible.
And now imagine that in
one of the points marked on the sphere, two lines of cars pass, coming from
opposite directions and spaced 0.1 meters from each other.
A truck positioned at that point, in one second would count 10 cars coming from
one direction and 10 from the other, and would measure a speed of 1 m/s for each
of them.
Therefore both the frequency of the cars and their speed would be isotropic.
Now, assuming that the truck moves at a speed of 0.1 m/s in one of the two
directions, in one second it would count 11 cars coming from the direction in
which it is moving, and 9 cars coming from the opposite direction. So it would
detect a difference of two cars between the two directions of origin (the
difference represents the dipole anisotropy of CMBR). And if it accurately
measured the speed of the cars relative to itself, it would find that those
coming from the forward direction would have a speed of 1.1 m/s, while those
coming from behind would have a speed of 0.9 m/s.
Therefore, both the frequency and the speed of the cars would depend on the
direction of origin and, therefore, would be anisotropic.
But if it measured their speed isotropic (1 m/s) and their frequency anisotropic
(11 and 9), it would mean that one of the two measurements was incorrect, namely
that of the speed, as shown in the demonstration set out in paragraph 2.1.
In conclusion, it appears that the speed of the cars is really isotropic only
relative to the point in which they are moving and not also relative to the
moving pickup truck.
And since the pickup truck represents the Earth and the cars the waves of
photons, including those of light, it means that the speed of light cannot be
isotropic relative to the Earth.
REFERENCES
1. Max Born –
“La sintesi einsteiniana” – Chapter 5, paragraph 14 -
2. Boschetto – Esperimento di Michelson
e Morley
http://www.fmboschetto.it/tde/approfondimento_1.htm
3. Albert Einstein – Special Relativity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity
Albert Einstein – On electrodynamics of moving bodies
https://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf
4. Albert Einstein – Relatività: Esposizione divulgativa – Chapter 1,
paragraph 8 – “Sul concetto di tempo nella fisica”. 1996;
58-61.
5. Veritasium -Why
No One Has Measured The Speed Of Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTn6Ewhb27k
6. Expansion of the
Universe in Deceleration and Relativity
https://vixra.org/abs/2404.0017
7. Wikipedia, Cosmic
Microwave Background -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background
8. Wikipedia, -
Cosmic Microwave Background - CMBR dipole anisotropy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background