KARL JASPERS FORUM
TA106 (Müller)

Commentary 19 (to R6)

EXCEEDING THE SPEED OF LIGHT

by Robert Neil Boyd

11 April 2008, posted 19 April 2008

<1>
The concept that the speed of light is an "absolute constant" is a most unfortunate dogma, not the fact of things. In the first place, the speed of light is not a constant. The propagation velocity of tranverse electromagnetic propagations varies in the given location, at the given instant, by as much as 3000 meters per second, relative to the average velocity as measured over large spans of time and millions of events. Calling the velocity of light a constant is merely a mathematical conveniance, not an empirical fact.

<2>

In any delta grad E event (change in the gradient of the Electric field, i.e., lightning), instant and simultaneous variations occur in the permittivity of free space, the permeability of free space, the pace of time, the speed of light, the force due to gravitation, and quantum probability density. Simultaneous divergences are also observed in the quantum potential. From instrumented observations of delta grad E events it can easily be seen that many of the customary "constants" are not constants at all.

<3>
As is the case with the speed of light, the pace of time, and so on, as above, variations in the force of gravitation are constantly observed, and taken advantage of in a technique known as "gravitational prospecting", where variations in the force of gravitation are used to find deposits of various minerals, and petrolium deposits, by 4 axis gravitometer measurements. Long-term gravitational variations are measured by instruments such as NASA's GRACE experiment, which instrument is composed of a set of satellite-based coupled gravitational interferometers.

<4>
In the second place, such a consideration of a "constant velocity" of transverse electromagnetic propagations is due to the Lorentz transformation solutions of the Maxwell equations, under a set of very stringent conditions. It is shown by intrumented observation, and by mathematical physics, that the velocity of tranverse E/M varies in optically active media, according to whether or not the helicity (circular polarization) is aligned or anti-aligned with the optical axis of the media, a chiral effect, resulting in propagations either exceeding the average propagation velocity of light, or smaller than the normal propagation velocity of C.

<5>
Such helicity variations of E/M propagations have been observed astronomically, leading astrophysicists to postulate that there exists an "axis of the universe", which acts on E/M which intersects with this axis, so as to alter its helicity and velocity. Electromagnetic chirality is related to the constitutive properties that link D to B and H to E. Optical activity is associated with the imaginary part of an E/M chirality linkage, where the Fresnel-Fizeau phenomena is related to the real part. The combination of Fresnel-Fizeau rotation and Optical Activity can break the inbound-outbound symmetry of propagating electromagnetic singularities, an effect which can be measured in dual-polarized ring lasers. Because optical chirality is related to centers of symmetry (fixed points of rotation), it is then natural to consider the possibility that the universe may be rotating about some axis.

<6>
In the third place, in his appendix to his paper "Space Time and Gravitation", V. Fock demostrated that singular solutions to Maxwell's Equations of electrodynamics satisfy the eikonal expression, a quadratic partial differential equation with signature {+++-}, having to do with the granularity of the fluidic media of "free space". Mappings which preserve the eikonal, taking a discontinuity in the E field, to a discontinuity, are of two, and only two types: A linear type, which Fock proved was the Lorentz group of transformations (This result is the foundation of special relativity.), and a non-linear Mobius (bilinear) projective transformation. In the linear mapping, it can be argued that the propagation speed of the singular solutions must be a constant. (The ubiquitous C, the speed of light). For the non-linear mappings the propagation speed of the singularity can be anything - including infinity. !!!

<7>
We now know that there are 15 distinct classes of Mobius transformation solutions to the Maxwell equations. Of these 15 classes of solutions, 4 of the varieties exhibit the same infinite velocity variability which was discovered to be associated with the original non-linear transformation discovered by V. Fock during 1948.

<8>
In the fourth place, the constitutive basis of the non-Euclidean manifold called "Minkowski space", which forms the basis for relativity theory has been brought into question. Minkowski rivets the pace of time to the propagation velocity of light, by the term iCt, called "imaginary time". This term, in turn, links time to the 3 Euclidean dimensions, resulting in 4D "space-time". This iCt term is in error, since astronomical observations have shown us that gravitation and time both propagate with a nearly infinite velocity (Kozyrev, et.al., in [5] ), such that the linking of space to time should have an infinite velocity basis, not a finite velocity basis. This term should be corrected in accordance with quantum non-locality and the superluminal bilinear solutions of the Maxwell equations, so that relativity has a similarly non-local basis. Then the term iVt, where V can represent any velocity from zero to infinity, is the more correct basis term for Minkowski space. And now relativity theory is brought into alignment with the Maxwell equations and quantum theory, on an equally non-local basis. Now the all the incorrigable attempts to combine relativity theory with quantum theory vanish.

<9>
In the fifth place, superluminal longitudinal propagations of electromagnetism are quite factual. T. W. Barret argues in [1] that "a number of physical effects strongly suggest that the Maxwell field theory of electromagnetism is incomplete." He subsequently proposes a modified EM theory based on the non-abelian symmetry group SU(2) instead of the abelian U(1) of Maxwell's theory [2]. In the same theoretical spirit, M.W. Evans has proposed an O(3) Electrodynamics [3].

<10>
B. Lehnert writes in [4]:
"An extended Lorentz invariant form of Maxwell's equations has been developed on the hypothesis that the densities of electric charge and current can be interpreted as intrinsic properties of the electromagnetic field in vacuo. As consequences of this proposal, longitudinal electric space charge waves and steady electromagnetic equilibria are predicted to exist in vacuo."

<11>
These proposed extensions to the Maxwell equations have in common that they treat the potentials of the EM field as physically real, while the Maxwell theory treats them as mere mathematical conveniences, without any physical meaning. Since both the frequency and the wavelength of longitudinal EM waves can be modulated independently, they can provide a virtually infinite bandwidth for communication. They would provide for instantaneous (superluminal) communication and thus utterly destroy Einstein's relativity theory, as presently written, sans the iVt argument above. (In Einstein's last paper, written in German, he was refuting himself and his previous relativity theory. Einstein's last paper is not commonly known, unfortunately. It was translated into English during 2002.)

<12>
We could go on with many more "places", but this should be enough for now. Certainly, the propagation velocity of light is not constant, nor is there any upper limit to velocity.

<13>
These facts have large relevance on the process of understanding Consciousness, by the way.

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REFERENCES

[1] Terence W. Barret: Maxwell's Theory Extended (Part 1) - Empirical Reasons for Questioning the Completeness of Maxwell's Theory- Effects demonstrating the Physical Significance of the A potentials. Annales de la Fondation Louis de Broglie, Vol. 15, 2, 1990 p. 143-183.

[2] Terence W. Barret: Maxwell's Theory Extended (Part 2) - Theoretical and Pragmatic Reasons for Questioning the completeness of Maxwell's Theory. Annales de la Fondation Louis de Broglie, Vol. 15, 3, 1990 p.253-283.

[3] M.W. Evans: O(3) Electrodynamics. Modern Nonlinear Optics, Part 2, Second Edition, Advances in Chemical Physics Volume 119, ISBN 0-471-38931-5, p. 79-267

[4] B. Lehnert: Basic Concepts of an Extended Electromagnetic Field Theory. Speculations in Science and Technology, Vol 17, 4, 1994 p. 259-266.

[5] V. E. Zhvirblis: STARS AND KOLTSARS* <http://www.chronos.msu.ru/EREPORTS/zhvirblis_stars/zhvirblis_stars.htm>

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Robert Neil Boyd

e-mail <rnboyd (at) iqonline.net