ISBN 978-1-61658-620-1

In writing this book I have had two purposes in mind. The first is to remove most of the mystery which has long permeated the subject of special relativity by providing a basis upon which the intelligent reader may achieve a real understanding. The second is to prove that the correct interpretation of Einstein’s theory of gravitation must comprehend variable rest masses.

Part I deals with special relativity, showing that its non-intuitive aspects stem from a failure to recognize the implications of the prescribed method for synchronizing clocks. The existence of the aether is proved, at least in a mathematical sense, by a consideration of an imaginary – but possible – universe, the topology of which is that of a flat three-torus. Several seemingly mysterious phenomena of special relativity are analyzed in detail from the aetherist standpoint and are thus made comprehensible.

Part II presents the correct interpretation of Einstein’s theory of gravity, in which variable rest masses plays a dominant role. The mathematics of Einstein’s theory of gravity is accepted, but the conventional interpretation of the theory is shown to be in error. This conclusion follows from a careful investigation of the cause of gravitational slowing of clocks, which reveals that the reduction of rest mass is responsible. The reduction of rest mass is intuitive and easily understood: Lifting a heavy object requires the expenditure of energy. But the energy invested is recoverable – it exists, we have been told, as ‘gravitational potential energy.’ Where is this energy? It is in the object itself, existing as an increase, usually very tiny, in the rest mass of the object. Thus if work, ΔE, is done on a body, the rest mass of that body will increase by the amount, Δm = ΔE /c² . Conversely, lowering an object (and absorbing the released potential energy) will result in a decrease in the rest mass of the object. Importantly, the reduction of rest mass also implies the elongation of measuring rods, which, in turn, implies that the accepted geometry is incorrect. Correcting for this effect reveals the true character of the geometry of space in the neighborhood of a gravitating body. In particular, the character of a black hole is quite different from that presently accepted.

Part III deals with the Cosmological Problem. The assumed large-scale spatial homogeneity of the universe requires momentum conservation, which, by a wonderfully simple argument, implies that rest masses must evolve as a simple exponential function of world time. This result also follows directly from the solution of Einstein’s equations for the case of a field with non-zero rest mass for which momentum is conserved. Thus the cosmological red shift has nothing to do with the expansion of space itself – the currently held interpretation – it is simply a consequence of the fact that in the past, spectral emission frequencies were reduced because of the reduced rest masses of the era in which the emission occurred.

Part IV surveys other variable rest mass theories, and presents various detailed calculations in fourteen appendices.

Part V is a personal account of the development of the theory and of unsuccessful efforts to publish in peer-reviewed journals.

The text presents proofs of a number of transformative concepts, some of which are listed below.

• The existence of the aether (the medium in which the speed of light is constant) is proved – at least in a mathematical sense, by a consideration of an imaginary – but possible – universe, the topology of which is that of a flat three-torus.
• Based upon the aether concept, several of the apparent paradoxes of special relativity are explained in a logical cause-and-effect manner.
• Assuming only the wave nature of matter, the Fitzgerald contraction, Larmor clock slowing, and the relativistically correct expressions for energy and momentum are deduced. (Credit to William G Harter, Professor of Physics, University of Arkansas)
• The gravitational potential energy of a body is shown to reside in the body itself, manifest as a change in the rest mass of the body: ΔE = Δmc² .
• The gravitational red shift is proved to be a consequence of the reduction of rest masses inherent in the nature of gravitational potential energy.
• It is proved that photons and other zero rest mass particles move with constant energy in a gravitational field. An obvious corollary is that such particles do not act as sources of the gravitational field.
• The gravitational reduction of rest mass causes an elongation of measuring rods, indicating that the presently accepted ‘proper’ geometry based, in effect, upon measurements made with such rods is incorrect. The true geometry of a black hole is radically different from that which is currently accepted. In particular, the worrisome loss of information and the fearsome singularity are shown to be non-problems.
• Regarding the gravitational slowing of clocks, the elongation of measuring rods suffices to insure the constancy of the locally measured speed of light, thus falsifying Einstein’s presumption that the true speed of light must be reduced in a gravitational field.
• The variable rest mass theory is applied to the Kerr solution describing a rotating black hole, enabling the explanation of the location of the two photon orbits. It is shown that the orbits occur at locations at which the turning of the wave front caused by the shear in the aether flow matches the curvature of the circle (as assessed in the true geometry) on which they lie.
• Regarding cosmology, the assumed large-scale spatial homogeneity of the universe requires momentum conservation, and this, it is shown, demands that rest masses must increase in proportion to A(t), the function that is presently interpreted as describing the manner in which the universe expands. This implies that the universe is not expanding, and that the red shift has nothing to do with the expansion of space itself (the current understanding), but rather is a simple consequence of the fact
that in the past, spectral emission frequencies were reduced because of the reduced rest masses of the era in which the emission occurred.
• The concepts of the relativity of time, the variable flow of time, and time travel to the past are shown to be illusory, untenable, and absurd, respectively.