Vinaire's Blog

As shown in the paper, Physics & Reality, the logic of reality depends on its consistency. A strange shift in reality occurred when Newton’s corpuscular theory of light was replaced by the wave theory of light. Light was no longer viewed as substance; instead it was viewed as energy that propagated through a hypothetical medium (substance) called aether.

The reality in physics shifted from “light is substance” to “light is energy”.

NOTE: A substance is anything that has impact on senses. That impact is sensed as force.

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Young’s Interference Experiment

The wave theory of light was at first resisted because there was no medium in which a light wave could travel. But Newton’s corpuscular theory could not explain the overwhelming evidence of the wave characteristics of light.

According to Wikipedia:

Young’s interference experiment, also called Young’s double-slit interferometer, was the original version of the modern double-slit experiment, performed at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Thomas Young. This experiment played a major role in the general acceptance of the wave theory of light.

With the acceptance of wave theory, physics was forced to postulate a hypothetical stationary aether.

The demonstration of interference patterns of light led to the acceptance of wave theory over Newton’s corpuscular theory.

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Particles versus Wave

The corpuscles of Newton’s theory were discrete; therefore, they could not be modeled into waves to explain the interference patterns. But a closer look tells us that these corpuscles cannot be discrete.

Material particles are discrete by the fact of their center of mass. Light particles do not have center of mass, and, therefore, they cannot be distinguished from each other. They must form a fluid-like continuum of substance that flows. Newton’s corpuscular theory incorrectly visualized light to be made up of discrete particles.

When corpuscles are modeled as a flowing, fluid substance, the objections to corpuscular theory go away. Light becomes capable of explaining the interference patterns of Young’s experiment, without requiring a medium.

When corpuscles are seen as fluid-like flowing substance, they are able to explain Young’s interference patterns.

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Quantum Reality and Mathematics

This shift of light as energy has persisted through Maxwell’s theory, Einstein theory of relativity, Quantum mechanics and now QED (Quantum electrodynamics) even when the hypothetical aether has long been discarded. The illusion of light as energy has been kept alive by the accuracy of results from these mathematical theories.

In his book, QED, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, Richard Feynman takes up the difficult problem of partial reflection from glass surfaces. It has no satisfactory solution for light either as a discrete particle or as a continuous wave. So, QED has no choice but to resort to mathematical probability to explain the “strangeness of nature”.

But if we define light as a non-atomic fluid that has very low mass density and very high speed, the problem of partial reflection is resolved easily without thinking of the strangeness of nature. With this classical model one does not have to resort to mathematical probability to find a real answer.

Strangeness of reality comes from conflating energy with substance.

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Future Possibility

The mathematical models of quantum physics have been successful in predicting physical phenomena in a certain narrow sense. It may be possible to reinterpret the mathematical symbolism of quantum physics without affecting those results.

By considering light to be a fluid-like, flowing, non-atomic substance we restore the consistency of reality. This consistency may spur just enough intuition to allow QED to successfully explain gravity and radioactivity as well.

The consistency in reality seems to spur intuition.

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