In the formulation of Special Relativity (SRT) Einstein assumed that the atmosphere of the earth extended only to a certain altitude, and that beyond this space was a total vacuum.
“Half a century ago, (i.e. 1950’s) most people visualised our planet as a solitary sphere travelling in a cold, dark vacuum of space around the Sun.”1
Accordingly he firstly further assumed (out of sheer necessity) that light needed no medium for transmission, and secondly that, rather than it accelerating to infinity within this vacuum as some suggested, it would travel in it at a velocity as indicated by experiments using the moons of Jupiter as a yardstick, and in SRT accordingly used this as a basis for the suggestion that light speed is invariable throughout the universe.
As kinetic theory then stated that the gases at sea level were volumetrically 99.9% a vacuum, he also assumed that the velocity of light, in passing from the supposed vacuum of space, would not be inhibited by the meagre distribution of atomic matter within the earth’s atmosphere, and so the velocity here would also be c.
It is now known that a vacuum is ‘a philosophical concept with no basis in reality’2, and that in space throughout the universe there is a consistent distribution of matter at varying densities.
“Absolute vacua cannot be created or found. — for example interplanetary space is not a vacuum, but has density ρ = 10−29g.cm.−3 or 10−5 protons cm.−3. The Universe itself is not a vacuum but has various densities associated with itself -” 3
Thus it is now known that space is not a perfect vacuum, and the cosmic microwave background shows that there is a consistent distribution of matter throughout the vast regions of inter-galactic and inter-stellar spaces in the universe.
It is also now known that the atmosphere of the earth has no defined border at any altitude.
‘The sun too has an atmosphere, and because the sun accounts for more than nine tenths of the total mass of the solar system, its atmosphere is much larger than that of any planet. The solar atmosphere extends far beyond the orbit of the earth, and at 80,000 Km our atmosphere merges imperceptibly with that of the sun.’4
The atmosphere of the earth varies in density in proportion to altitude and the only conclusion that can be drawn from this fact is that, contrary to the currently accepted base theory of physics, i.e. the kinetic theory of gases, this variation is due to the earth’s gravitational field.
Of course the solar atmosphere is of much lower densities than that of our experience, while its elemental, atomic composition is not precisely known and is the subject of speculation, but it is a consistent distribution of matter, and the density at any point in the solar system is dependent upon the particular altitude from, and the gravitational forces of, the sun and of one or more of the massive bodies, planetary or otherwise that are part of it.
Accordingly it must be assumed that, as the force of gravitation permeates the whole of the universe, the matter between the stars, and between clouds of matter and galaxies, is influenced by this force, so that the densities vary in accordance with the relative strength of the gravitational field.
Therefore it is inconceivable that the gravitational field projected by the huge masses of galaxies do not influence the matter surrounding it, such that it can be described as a galactic atmosphere, and that the density of this matter varies in accordance with altitude from a galaxy’s centre.
It is also now accepted that the speed of light ‘in atmosphere is 3% less than in vacuo’5. (Note that ‘in vacuo’ here is incorrect, as in this context it does not mean in a perfect vacuum, it means ‘as measured within the solar system’, or alternatively that observed in ‘high’ vacuum experiments here on earth.)
Let us be quite clear what this means, it means that the velocity of light from anywhere outside earth, measured at the earth’s surface, has been reduced by the progressively increasing densities of the atmosphere.
This is in full agreement with experiment, for example where it is observed that light in passing from gases into liquids and transparent solids is reduced in velocity, and that on emerging from these it immediately regains its original velocity. Therefore the velocity of light is unequivocally proven to depend on the density of the transmitting media.
Finally, as the distribution of matter is consistent throughout the universe and as the vacuum does not exist, the conditions for light to travel at c do not exist.
“If one considers the propagation of light the speed c is its speed of propagation in a vacuum, as discussed above; there is never an absolute vacuum so that light never propagates at c.” 6
The only circumstance where light would travel at a constant velocity would be through matter which is of a perfectly consistent density, such as could possibly be the case with a high quality glass, or any other other pure, transparent solid or stable liquid.
So, contrary to the beliefs, or assumptions, of Einstein around 1900, the vacuum does not exist and space is not a vacuum, the speed of light is affected by the earth’s atmosphere, light never propagates at c, and the earth’s atmosphere extends out to and blends into the atmosphere of the sun, in other words the main assumptions on which SRT was based are now known to be false.
So if the speed of light is dependent on the density of matter, and if matter is distributed consistently throughout the universe at varying densities, then the speed of light in the universe is not invariable, but instead travels at a variable velocity that is fully dependent on the densities of the matter through which it is passing.
As mentioned SRT asserts that light needs no medium for transmission and travels at a constant velocity, and that for the Doppler effect only the relative difference in velocity between the observer and the source needs to be considered. So that, on this basis, the conclusion drawn from the analysis of light from distant galaxies was that the observed red shift indicated that such galaxies were moving away at a significant velocity. It was further concluded that, as the majority of galaxies produced a red shift, then they were all moving away from ours, and that accordingly the universe was expanding in all directions. Which conclusion in turn led to the big bang concept.
As the velocity of light is regulated by the density of the matter through which it is passing, then it follows that matter is necessary for its transmission, and so the assumption of Einstein, (and the currently accepted scientific dogma) that matter has no effect on the velocity of light (in these circumstances), or that it is not a necessary component for its transmission is clearly false.
So, if the velocity of light is dependent on the density of matter universally, then we can interpret the propagation of light and the red shift phenomena in a different way, as follows:-
All light leaving Galaxy A that is in the vicinity of our ‘Milky Way’ galaxy is generated by the stars and the matter within it, and will be regulated by the atmosphere of this galaxy so that is has about the same velocity at any (external) altitude from its centre, and, as light moves out from the galaxy, it encounters progressively lower densities and its velocity increases accordingly.
It continues to accelerate until the point of gravitational neutrality about halfway between Galaxy A and ours (Galaxy M in the Figure 1 below, where the red line indicates the variations in velocity of a direct ray of light from A to M, and the blue shading the galactic atmospheres), at which point it reaches its maximum velocity. It now progressively decelerates in accordance with the increasing densities that it encounters in the atmosphere of the Milky Way.
If we were able to analyse the light at the mid-point its wavelength would obviously be shifted to the blue end, and from this mid-point to a similar altitude from M, the progressive reduction in velocity will have the opposite effect on its wavelength in in shifting back towards the red end.
Figure 1
Naturally at equivalent altitudes and densities above each galaxy (that are of a similar magnitude and are not moving relative to each other) these effects would simply cancel each other out and there would be no red or blue shift at this point.
But from this point to earth the density of matter increases progressively and substantially, which would have the effect of reducing the velocity and shifting it to the red end of the spectrum. However in the case of galaxies that are in the vicinity of ours, the light emerging from these is emitted from individual stars within them, so the light from these will be subject to a decreasing density, which, again, will serve to cancel out the effect at our end.
Galaxies that exhibit a red shift are those at the outer (visual) limits of the universe, and in these cases the light has been in transit for ten billion years or more. In this long passage the light has been subject to numerous fluctuations in velocity caused by the variations in density in the gravitational fields of intervening clouds of matter, galaxies and clusters of galaxies, the end result of which would I suggest be a modulation of this light so that it would appear to be from a single source. In this case the light reaching the outer limits of our galaxy would be subject to an additional reduction in velocity through to the solar system, as indicated in Figure 2 below that in turn would result in a redshift when observed on earth.
Figure 2
This would suggest that red shifts registered here on earth are not be a reliable indication of the relative motion of two galaxies, and that the hypothesis of a continually expanding universe, and the ‘big bang’ origin of it, is false.
It is relevant to note that Edwin Hubble, whose observations of redshifts of distant galaxies led to these theories, in this respect said that “expanding models are a forced interpretation of the observational results”
1 ‘The Sun From Space’, Kenneth R Lang, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
2 Wikipedia, Vacuum
3 http://www.scribd.com/doc/3713939/Roberts-Vacuum-Energy-3rd-vs-167pp
4 ‘Elements: Air – The Nature of Atmosphere and Climate’ Michael Allaby, Facts on File Inc. NY, 1992
5 Encarta
6 http://www.scribd.com/doc/3713939/Roberts-Vacuum-Energy-3rd-vs-167pp