arXiv subjects

Joseph Levy

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Levy.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

Is the aether entrained by the motion of celestial bodies? What do the experiments tell us?

Even though the concept has evolved and if the designation as aether is improperly regarded as outdated, nobody today considers that the vacuum is empty. However, the nature and the properties of the substratum, which permeates the entire universe, remain for the most part unspecified. For example, divergent opinions are put forward by physicists about a possible dragging of the aether by the translational motion of celestial bodies due to gravitation. We show in this text that such a hypothesis is inconsistent with well established experimental data which, on the contrary, lend support to non-entrained aether theory based on Lorentz contraction. A revaluation of the aether drift to which the Earth is subjected is carried out.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2010

Phase tuning in Michelson-Morley experiments performed in vacuum, assuming length contraction

In agreement with Michelson-Morley experiments performed in vacuum, we show that, assuming the existence of a fundamental aether frame and of a length contraction affecting the material bodies in the direction of the Earth absolute velocity, the light signals, travelling along the arms of the interferometer arrive in phase whatever their orientation, a result which responds to an objection opposed to the non-entrained aether theory. This result constitutes a strong argument in support of length contraction and of the existence of a model of aether non-entrained by the motion of celestial bodies.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2010

General Transformations of Space and Time according to Aether Theory

Assuming the existence of a preferred aether frame and the anisotropy of the one-way speed of light in platforms different from the aether frame, we derive the space and time transformations relative to bodies moving in any direction of space and not only in the direction of the common x-axis of the co-ordinate systems under consideration. Taking for granted length contraction and clock retardation, we show that the experimental space-time transformations result from measurement distortions due to the fact that the length of the rods and the frequency of the clocks, used for the measure, do not have a constant value as a result of their motion through the aether, and because the standard synchronization procedures are affected by a synchronism discrepancy effect. When the motion of bodies is aligned along the common x-axis, the transformations assume the same mathematical form as the conventional transformations. However, their meaning is quite different because they have been derived on the basis of very different assumptions, and they arise from the measurement distortions mentioned above. Therefore they conceal hidden variables which are the true transformations.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2010

Two-way speed of light and Lorentz-FitzGerald's contraction in aether theory

This paper aims at demonstrating that: 1/ Assuming the equality of the two-way transit time of light in vacuo, along the two perpendicular arms of Michelson's interferometers (modern versions of Michelson's experiment), and the anisotropy of the one-way speed of light in the Earth frame, two facts supported today by strong experimental arguments, length contraction (in Lorentz and FitzGerald's approach) should no longer be regarded as an ad hoc hypothesis, it appears necessary and can be easily deduced. 2/ Builder and Prokhovnik had the great merit of having shown that, as a result of to length contraction, the two-way transit time of light along a rod is the same in all directions in space (and not only in two privileged directions). We agree with these authors up to this point, but, contrary to what is often believed, their approach failed to reconcile aether theory with the invariance of the apparent (measured) two-way speed of light. Yet, as we shall show, due to the systematic measurement distortions entailed by length contraction and clock retardation assumed by aether theory, the two-way speed of light, although anisotropic and dependent on the absolute speed of the frame where it is measured, is always found equal to C. The reasons of this paradoxical but important result will be developed here. They confirm Lorentz-Fitzgerald's contraction and lend support of the existence of a preferred aether frame.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2008

Relativity and Aether Theory, a Crucial Distinction

We study the case of two rockets which meet at a point O of an inertial co-ordinate system S, and are scheduled to move at constant speed, in opposite directions, toward two targets placed at equal distances from point O. At the instant they meet, the clocks inside the rockets are set to zero. When they reach the targets the rockets meet two clocks A and B whose reading is identical. This question which was tackled in ref [1] is studied here in depth. Assuming the existence of a preferred aether frame So in which the one-way speed of light is isotropic, and the anisotropy of this speed in the other frames, we show that, if the equal reading of the clocks A and B results from an exact synchronization, the clocks inside the rockets will display different readings when they reach A and B in contradiction with the relativity principle. Conversely, if the clocks A and B, which display an equal reading, have been synchronized by means of the Einstein-Poincare procedure, the inboard clocks will also display the same reading, a fact which seems in agreement with the relativity principle. But this synchronization method presupposes the invariance of the one-way speed of light, in contradiction with the assumptions made, and, therefore, introduces a measurement error. This demonstrates that if we assume the existence of an aether frame, the apparent relativity principle is not a fundamental principle; it depends on an arbitrary synchronization. In any case, this is an example of an experimental measurement which can be explained by aether theory without the assumption of the invariance of the one-way speed of light in all inertial frames.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2008

Aether Theory Clock Retardation vs. Special Relativity Time Dilation

Assuming a model of aether non-entrained by the motion of celestial bodies, one can provide a rational explanation of the experimental processes affecting the measurement of time when clocks are in motion. Contrary to special relativity, aether theory does not assume that the time itself is affected by motion; the reading displayed by the moving clocks results from two facts: 1/ Due to their movement through the aether, they tick at a slower rate than in the aether frame. 2/ The usual synchronization procedures generate a synchronism discrepancy effect. These facts give rise to an alteration of the measurement of time which, as we shall show, exactly explains the experimental results. In particular, they enable to solve an apparent paradox that special relativity cannot explain (see chapter 4). When the measurement distortions are corrected, the time proves to be the same in all co-ordinate systems moving away from one another with rectilinear uniform motion. These considerations strongly support the existence of a privileged aether frame. The consequences concern special relativity (SR) as well as general relativity (GR) which is an extension of SR. We should note that Einstein himself became conscious of the necessity of the aether from 1916, in contrast with conventional relativity. Yet the model of aether presented here differs from Einsein in that it assumes the existence of an aether drift, in agreement with the discoveries of G.F. Smoot and his co-workers listed in Smoot Nobel Lecture, December 8th 2006. Although it makes reference to previous studies, this text remains self-sufficient.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2008

Basic Concepts for a Fundamental Aether Theory

In the light of recent experimental and theoretical data, we go back to the studies tackled in previous publications [1] and develop some of their consequences. Some of their main aspects will be studied in further detail. Yet this text remains self- sufficient. The questions asked following these studies will be answered. The consistency of these developments in addition to the experimental results, enable to strongly support the existence of a preferred aether frame and of the anisotropy of the one-way speed of light in the Earth frame. The theory demonstrates that the apparent invariance of the speed of light results from the systematic measurement distortions entailed by length contraction, clock retardation and the synchronization procedures with light signals or by slow clock transport. Contrary to what is often believed, these two methods have been demonstrated to be equivalent by several authors [1]. The compatibility of the relativity principle with the existence of a preferred aether frame and with mass-energy conservation is discussed and the relation existing between the aether and inertial mass is investigated. The experimental space-time transformations connect co-ordinates altered by the systematic measurement distortions. Once these distortions are corrected, the hidden variables they conceal are disclosed. The theory sheds light on several points of physics which had not found a satisfactory explanation before. (Further important comments will be made in ref [1d]).

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2008

Aether Theory and the Principle of Relativity

This paper completes and comments on some aspects of our previous publications. In ref [1], we have derived a set of space-time transformations referred to as the extended space-time transformations. These transformations, which assume the existence of a preferred aether frame and the variability of the one-way speed of light in the other frames, are compared to the Lorentz-Poincare transformations. We demonstrate that the extended transformations can be converted into a set of equations that have a similar mathematical form to the Lorentz-Poincare transformations, but which differ from them in that they connect reference frames whose co-ordinates are altered by the systematic unavoidable measurement distortions due to length contraction and clock retardation and by the usual synchronization procedures, a fact that the conventional approaches of relativity do not show. As a result, we confirm that the relativity principle is not a fundamental principle of physics [i.e, it does not rigorously apply in the physical world when the true co-ordinates are used]. It is contingent but seems to apply provided that the distorted coordinates are used. The apparent invariance of the speed of light also results from the measurement distortions. The space-time transformations relating experimental data, therefore, conceal hidden variables which deserved to be disclosed for a deeper understanding of physics.

physics.gen-ph↗