"Broadens Understanding of Science"
Aloha and three cheers for colleague Yves-Henri Sanejouand! His tireles work has found multiple signs that the speed of light is slowing down, as GM=tc^3 predicts. His latest paper thanks someone named Riofrio for useful comments. Sanejouand's work is starting to get press attention.
From Optonics and Photonics Focus, February 18 2010:
Is Light slowing Down?
The speed of light is a universal constant — or is it? Some evidence seems to suggest it might actually be slowing down. Will we soon have to revise our cosmological beliefs?
If light were slowing down, we would have to revise many of our astronomical beliefs: from the age of the Universe to the distances between galaxies, from the dark matter to the definition of many physical constants. What a tremendous set of implications! Some evidence that this might indeed be the case starts piling up, as recently reported by Yves-Henri Sanejouand from the University of Nantes in France.
From Vertical News:
Research from Y.H. Sanejouand et al broadens understanding of science
2010 JAN 26 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from France, "Possible empirical evidences in favor of the hypothesis that the speed of light decreases by a few centimeters per second each year are examined. Lunar laser ranging data are found to be consistent with this hypothesis, which also provides a straightforward explanation for the so-called Pioneer anomaly, that is, a time-dependent blue-shift observed when analyzing radio tracking data from distant spacecrafts, as well as an alternative explanation for both the apparent time-dilation of remote events and the apparent acceleration of the Universe."
"The main argument against this hypothesis, namely, the constancy of fine-structure and Rydberg constants, is discussed. Both of them being combinations of several physical constants, their constancy implies that, if the speed of light is indeed time-dependent, then at least two other ''fundamental constants'' have to vary as well," wrote Y.H. Sanejouand and colleagues.
The researchers concluded: "This puts severe constraints on the development of any future varying-speed-of-light theory."
Sanejouand and colleagues published the results of their research in Epl (About some possible empirical evidences in favor of a cosmological time variation of the speed of light. Epl, 2009;88(5):59002).
From Optonics and Photonics Focus, February 18 2010:
Is Light slowing Down?
The speed of light is a universal constant — or is it? Some evidence seems to suggest it might actually be slowing down. Will we soon have to revise our cosmological beliefs?
If light were slowing down, we would have to revise many of our astronomical beliefs: from the age of the Universe to the distances between galaxies, from the dark matter to the definition of many physical constants. What a tremendous set of implications! Some evidence that this might indeed be the case starts piling up, as recently reported by Yves-Henri Sanejouand from the University of Nantes in France.
From Vertical News:
Research from Y.H. Sanejouand et al broadens understanding of science
2010 JAN 26 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from France, "Possible empirical evidences in favor of the hypothesis that the speed of light decreases by a few centimeters per second each year are examined. Lunar laser ranging data are found to be consistent with this hypothesis, which also provides a straightforward explanation for the so-called Pioneer anomaly, that is, a time-dependent blue-shift observed when analyzing radio tracking data from distant spacecrafts, as well as an alternative explanation for both the apparent time-dilation of remote events and the apparent acceleration of the Universe."
"The main argument against this hypothesis, namely, the constancy of fine-structure and Rydberg constants, is discussed. Both of them being combinations of several physical constants, their constancy implies that, if the speed of light is indeed time-dependent, then at least two other ''fundamental constants'' have to vary as well," wrote Y.H. Sanejouand and colleagues.
The researchers concluded: "This puts severe constraints on the development of any future varying-speed-of-light theory."
Sanejouand and colleagues published the results of their research in Epl (About some possible empirical evidences in favor of a cosmological time variation of the speed of light. Epl, 2009;88(5):59002).
Labels: cosmology, speed of light
posted by L. Riofrio at 6:42 AM
4 Comments:
Excellent news! The journalists should also interview you about a varying c. Please give us a post about the Age of the Universe. I have been wondering a bit about this, but I am not yet quite sure which crazy idea is the right one ...
Can dimensionful quantities change?
The Optics and Photonics Focus article says:
"... if c were decreasing over time, the Hubble effect would turn out to be a simple optical effect, eliminating the need to postulate the existence of dark matter, as proposed by P. I. Wold back in 1935 ...".
The P. I. Wold 1935 reference was to Phys. Rev. 47, 217-219, which is not free on the web so I have not read the complete article, but the abstract is free, and it says:
"... The characteristics of a wave traveling in a medium in which the velocity of light is a function of time is considered and it is shown that one is able to account for the redward shift of spectral lines from distant nebulae on this basis. For simplicity, the function c_1=c(1 - at) is assumed and numerical calculations are made yielding a value of a =1.81×10^(-17) cm per sec. as being necessary to account for observed redward shift. ....".
Louise, is that value of a consistent with your model?
The Union College web site says "... In fall 2009, Union College began construction of the Peter Irving Wold Center for Science and Engineering ..."
and
it has a biography of P. I. Wold at
www.union.edu/Campus/Wold/images/peter-wold---bio.pdf
that says in part:
"... Perhaps one of the most interesting of his ideas has to do with a new theory to account for the apparent expansion the universe, as indicated by a redward shift in astronomical spectra. ... Accordingly, Dr. Wold has postulated a dependence
of the velocity of light upon the amount of other radiation present in its path. ... an adequate experiment capable of proving or disproving it might consist of comparison of the velocities of two beams of light, one of which passes through radiation-filled space and the other through radiation-free space. ... The experiment which Dr.
Wold proposes to perform will consist of observing a beam of light, first with both paths shielded, then with one path strongly irradiated. A change of the velocity of the beam in the irradiated path, even if it is as small as one part in fifty million, will be immediately detected. When this work is finished, Dr. Wold hopes to be in a position to uphold or
reject his own theory. ...".
The biography article was dated 11 January 1940, and I have not found on the net any results of his interference experiment,
which sounds to me like a "tired light" idea, which may not be exactly what you, Louise, have in mind?
Tony Smith
Aloha, Kea. Working on something about the age of the Universe now, it is all a matter of mathematics.
Good post, Zephir.
For Tony: The "tired light" idea said that cosmological redshifts were entirely caused by a slowing c. The model I am working with says that scale R = ct, so the Universe expands with increasing t. In Planck units, R = t predicts that the Universe expands. The size of redshifts that we see, however, is affected by a changing speed off light.
Concering our conflicts with the MarXiv, they are bankrupt.
Post a Comment
<< Home