time and space

A BRIEF REEVALUATION OF BASIC SPACE-TIME RELATIONSHIPS

It is necessary to move quickly through the history of the study of time and space because our current time and space is limited. The following selection of important scientific advances is unfair to many men who actually originated the ideas for which the men named below generally receive credit. This list also ignores many important discoveries in related scientific areas. My apologies to those not mentioned here.

1543: Nicolaus Copernicus:   heliocentric theory

The heliocentric theory was a giant step forward since it was the first general acknowledgment that mankind is not necessarily the center of the universe. That idea was considered so radical by the authoritarians of his time that it cost Copernicus his social freedom - and almost his life.

Comment

Note that the recognition of Earth motion became possible only after some point of reference which was separate from the Earth was accepted .   Copernicus assumed that the external point of reference (the Sun) was motionless in space.   The key point here is that external motion in any form (translation or rotation) is mathematically impossible when the coordinate system of reference is based on the point or object for which the concept of motion is being considered. Hence the concept of motion of Earth through space demands the prior acceptance of some coordinate system (such as the Sun) which is external to the Earth itself.   Explain this

1589: Galileo Galilei:   rate of fall is independent of object weight

Galileo�s experiments closed a prior long standing argument that heavy objects must fall faster than light weight objects. While it may not have been widely accepted at the time, the experiments also proved that every object possesses a 'magic' natural property we now call �inertial� force which resists any applied force in direct proportion to the magnitude of that applied force. During his experiments he used the �weight� of objects as the applied force, and because the resisting inertial force was directly proportional to the applied force of the object weight, he proved that the rate of acceleration during fall is equal for all objects.

Comment

The mathematical value of the ratio of applied force to inertial resisting force is constant for all objects, and has a magnitude identical to the factor we call the �acceleration� of the object:

Applied Force/Natural Inertia Force = Acceleration = Constant.

Note that when 'acceleration' is recognized in this equation it is a dimensionless constant because it is a ratio of two force factors. That resultant ratio remains constant and independent of both the duration and the distance through which the change was measured, and of the variation in initial and final 'velocity' of the object.   The only possible method to change that natural constant ratio is to change the unit measure of the factor(s) which are called 'time' and/or 'distance' - factors which have been arbitrarily pre-defined not by nature, but by man himself.   Explain this

1609: Johannes Kepler:   1st and 2nd laws of planetary motion
1619:  3rd law of planetary motion

Kepler believed in the Copernicus theory that the Sun remains absolutely fixed in space, while all planets rotate around that fixed location of the Sun. (This is a false assumption, but was the current state of science at the time.) Based on that false belief, and mathematical procedures, Kepler advised that all planets in our solar system move in elliptical orbits around the fixed Sun, with the fixed Sun being located at one of the focal points of the ellipse.   Kepler's mathematical efforts were based on time history data pertaining to the angular location of the planet Mars. The data had been documented as the result of years of astronomical observations by Tycho Brahe (1541 - 1601).

Comment

Had Kepler been aware that the Sun also moves in relation to the motion of the planets, then he might have mathematically proven that both Sun and planets move in perfect circles on opposite sides of an invisible fixed point which we now recognize as the 'center of gravity' for the combination of Sun and planet.   Explain this

More importantly, Kepler�s mathematics showed the relationship of the rate of relative motion of the planets was inversely proportional to the variable radius that he believed existed, and that a simple common mathematical relationship exists in common among all the orbital paths for all the planets in the solar system. In so doing, Kepler had discovered the concept of �relativity� of time and space some 400 years before that concept was even considered by later day (and current) scientific scholars.   Explain this

1684: Isaac Newton:   mass attraction and gravity
1687:  laws of motion

Newton apparently did not recognize the significance of the above comments pertaining to Copernicus' and Kepler's work. He replaced the concept of an �inertia force� which is directly proportional to an applied force with the word �mass�. Newton then advised that the �mass� of an object is a constant mathematical factor that is internally 'owned' by each specific object, and which is free of any affects associated with applied force, location, or currently existing instantaneous state of motion.

Newton then postulated a concept of 'mass attraction' (or gravity) to explain why planets remain in orbit, and why objects fall toward Earth. He was aware of Galileo�s prior proof that all objects fall toward Earth at the same constant rate of acceleration (but apparently did not recognize the direct relationship of the ratio of applied-to-inertial resistance forces). It was therefore necessary for Newton to postulate a new mathematical equation to explain his new concept of �mass� being something different and independent of the true �magical� nature of inertial resistance forces which are directly related to the applied force we call the �weight� of an object. The mathematical equation which Newton derived is therefore based on his initial erroneous concept of the word �mass� as a replacement for the natural �magic� concept of �inertial resistance force�.

Comment

The erroneous concepts of �mass� and �mass attraction� which Newton postulated were accepted by the scientific authorities of his day, and continue to be dogmatically passed down as �laws� of nature by current day scientific authorities. These concepts have become so well accepted now, that all suggestions that they may contain errors are simply brushed aside by the scientific authorities like a pebble within an avalanche. In future years this will probably be recognized to be the greatest error in scientific history.

However, the true genius of Newton should not be denied. Among other thoughts, it was Newton who (in later years of his life) provided the logical recognition that two celestial objects in mutual orbit must rotate around a point which we now call the mutual 'center of gravity' (the clue to Copernicus' and Kepler's erroneous postulates that the Sun is absolutely motionless in space).

Newton also advised and that for every force there is an equal and opposite force. This is the reason for Galaleo's finding that heavy and light weight objects all fall at the same rate due to those �magic� natural inertial resisting forces. It is also the clue which provides insight about Kepler's unrecognized discoveries pertaining to relativity,

Perhaps if Newton had re-evaluated his concepts of mass attraction and gravity after completion of his work on the laws of motion he would have recognized the errors in the work of those who preceded him. And if so, he might have corrected the errors he had already introduced when he created the concepts of mass and acceleration. Unfortunately for science, he apparently did not do so, and his errors have been dogmatically carried forward to current times. Explain this

1905: Albert Einstein:   special relativity
1905:  equivalence of mass and energy
1912:  curvature of space-time
1915:  general relativity

There was enough truth in classical science that technology was able to move ahead during the subsequent 200 years into the �industrial age�. By then man was able to see much farther into the microscopic and macroscopic universes which surrounded him. New discoveries such as electronics, nuclear theories of ideal gasses, and high powered telescopes made this possible. And with those possibilities came the realization that Newton�s concepts were flawed. The science scholars searched feverishly, but with little success, attempting to explain the new discoveries of technology in terms of the old technology. Explain this

Then around the turn of the 20th century the concepts of �relativity� and 'quantum theory were introduced into science. No one really liked the theories - but no one was able to suggest a better alternative. Without realizing it, the scientific world had stumbled back onto the basic concepts of relativity which Kepler had stumbled across, but failed to recognize, three centuries before.

This re-discovery was a potential God send - until Einstein turned from logic to mathematics. His task was difficult because he apparently still did not recognize the truths hidden in Galileo�s and Kepler�s results, nor the errors in Newton�s substitution of the word 'mass' in place of 'inertial momentum'. Perhaps even Einstein did not yet dare to voice doubt about the commonly accepted conclusions of the great Newton.

His solution was to expand the meaning of the word 'mass' which Newton had first created. He advised that the classical concept of constant mass was adequate for objects which moved at the slow velocity which man was previously aware, but when those velocities were greatly increased , then the concept of mass should be expanded to include the concept of variable �energy� levels. The meaning of the word mass was changed from a physical constant inertial factor which was independently �owned� by each object (per Newton), to a mathematical variable 'energy' factor which was a function dependent on the velocity of that object.

He turned to the mathematicians to find equations which would verify his assumptions. The committee came up with a set of mathematical equations which seemed to fill the desired solutions. It was postulated that not only �mass�, but also space and time were variables which depended on the relative velocity between two objects. However, the equations were formatted in a manner which resulted in the changes being significant only when the relative velocity approached �the speed of light� - which was postulated to be still another �universal constant� of nature. Explain this

But in so doing, they initiated complicated (seemingly illogical) theories of mathematical complexity which few others would dare to challenge. Throughout the 20th century, various �fudge factors� were thrown into the original equations whenever a discrepancy was found between the mathematical theory and the natural reality of observations. By the end of the 20th century, the theories had become so complex that complete chaos reigned within a vast organization of publicly funded mathematical/scientific scholars.

Comment

It is tragic to realize that the concepts of relativity and quantum theory were so close to the simple truths of natural reality, but that those truths were again overlooked because the scientists were lost in complex mathematics rather than giving some consideration to dogmatically accepted historic 'laws' of physics which contain obvious, but ignored major errors. Explain this

the 21st century and beyond

By then everyone was aware that the accepted concepts of the day were terribly flawed, but the vast majority also recognized that it was almost a form of social suicide to challenge the overall body of scholars.   The social customs had not changed greatly from the time when Copernicus was similarly challenged by the recognized authority of the moment.

But in the background, many small groups of dissidents, and thousands of individuals were searching for some greater truth of nature which was obviously lost by the greater community of acknowledged scientific �experts�.

A new revolution in science beliefs was (and is) brewing. Explain this

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