JRIS
The
Physics
Preview
for the 21st century
Rational Interpretations for the Academic
Humanist
Volume 1 • Issue 1.5
October 13, 1998
(C) John Reed
Electro Magnetic Radiation and Visible Light
Are they the same?
Albert
Einstein
excerpt 1.5 begin
... the absence of the aether and the Michaelson and Morley result that
appeared to show that visible light's measured velocity is independent to the
motion of its source, or its observers, supported Einstein's two postulates.
I have paraphrased Einstein here to more easily point out that these postulates
state almost nothing about the machinations of the universe. Instead, they both
refer to the measurement of physical quantities. The first postulate suggests
that the determination of the laws of physics can be subject to the motion of
the measurer. It also assumes that the observers are measuring events in an
identical manner. I may expand on this in a later paper but for now I wish to
primarily deal with the second postulate.
A significant lack of clarity exists in this postulate by virtue of the inclusion
"...measure of the velocity of light in a vacuum..."
, which I will explain later.
At the time Einstein put this forward, the second postulate appeared to be
at odds with classical mechanics. The academic community's acceptance of a rate
of travel, the measure of which is not affected by any other rate of travel
was not easily accomplished. The Michaelson and Morley experiments appeared
to support the idea and the postulate gained acceptance. However, until the
publication of The
Physics Preview
it has remained as an unexplained and mysterious postulate. I suspect that no
one took the time to rationally examine it, since reason is, and has been held
in such high disregard by the mathematical physicist.
If we accept the second postulate we must conclude
that there is no component of motion from emr within the observer's field of
measure. This is a logical and I might add, unavoidable consequence of the postulate
itself. If no component of motion exists in the observer's field of measure,
the measure of light's velocity cannot be taken by measuring its effect on the
field. The idea that one can stand, say, in a vacuum and measure light's velocity
as it passes by, is of course, absurd.
From this process of reasoning we can conclude that the velocity of emr is
measured at its source of emission, or at its destination. The measure of the
oscillation requires a physical detector. A discrete material object from which,
and upon which, the illumination shines. It is an emission, absorption, or reflection
process, and requires a minimum of two objects. ...
excerpt 1.5 end
next excerpt>>>
<<