Action at a Distance

The earth attracts the moon. What is the mechanism of gravity? A proton attracts an electron and a proton repels a proton. What produces these forces between matter? Clearly there must be a medium between pieces of matter in order to produce the forces. Then how in the world is it possible to develop forces of repulsion and, presumably the more difficult problem, of developing forces of attraction?

Let us begin with a simple experiment. Below we show a large tank of water and two elastic (rubber-like) balls which can be inflated and deflated cyclically, see the figure. Two spheres are shown which are connected to pipes.

Fluid can be fed into the balls to make the balls expand to the outer dashed-line spheres and then by reducing the pressure in the pipes the spheres can be contracted to the inner dashed-line spheres. Means are provided to cycle the pressure so that the spheres experience a continual cycling between the two extremes. Furthermore the two spheres can expand simultaneously then contract simultaneously, i.e., they can cycle in-phase, or one sphere can expand while the other contracts and thus be 180° out of phase.

In this tank means are provided for measuring horizontal forces parallel to the x-axis acting to separate the spheres or to bring them closer together. The force measurement system is not shown. Also, the distance to r can be varied.

What occurs when the experiment is performed is that the spheres attract each other when the spheres expand and contract in phase and repel each other when out-of-phase. Also, when the value of r changes the magnitude of the force varies inversely with the square of the separation distance.

A theoretical analysis of the interaction was obtained about twenty years after the experiments were performed. The equation for the value of the maximum resulting force F  is

F=ρ (8π2 a4 α2)/(r2 T2 )

where a is the nominal radius of the breathing spheres, alpha is the half amplitudes of the oscillation of the spheres, and T is the period (i.e., time for one cycle) of the oscillation.

In the case of an incompressible medium (water, in this case) the force is attractive when breathing is in phase and repulsive when out of phase. The theoretical analysis was extended to include oscillating solid spheres and rotating dumbbells — always with the same result. Also, the theoretical analysis was extended to account for an acoustic medium. In this case the forces were attractive when breathing was out-of-phase and repulsive when in-phase. More recently, Steinert in 1984, see Reference 1, modeled and electric charge as a dumbbell connected to the end of a rod which was rotated at angular velocity, omega, about its center as shown below. The dumbbell rotates

Model of Positive Charge

about its longitudinal axes as shown in the figure. The rotation, ω1, simulates the orbit of the neutrino producing the charge and the rotation, ω2, simulates the intrinsic angular momentum of the charged particle. In this figure we show a right-hand charged particle since the dumbbell moves to the left as shown and ω2would make a right hand screw advance to the left. Thus, the figure shown models a positive charge. The figure below models a negative charge.

Model of Negative Charge

The analysis was performed for two like charges separated by a large distance r as well as two unlike charges immersed in an elastic medium.

The result of the analyses showed that the mechanism would force phasing. The like charges were 180° out of phase and the unlike charges were in phase. The period, T, is given by

T=2πa/c

where a is the orbital radius and c is the tangential velocity of the dumbbell. Using T from above the force is

F=(2a2 α2 c)/r2

We applied this to simulate the force between two protons or a proton and an antiproton. We assumed a was the orbital radius of the neutrino making the proton. We assumed the amplitude of oscillation was the same as the neutrino orbital radius. Of course c is the speed of light. Now the maximum force is

F=ρ (2a4c)/r2

It is attractive for unlike charges and repulsive for like charges.

As a result of the above analysis, it is concluded that the orbiting neutron making up a proton produces the electrostatic field. The electrostatic fields of two protons force the protons apart. The electrostatic fields of two particles of two opposite charged particles force the two particles together.

Steinert extended the analysis to show that a residual field is produced by a negatively charged particle orbiting the positively charged particle such as in a hydrogen atom. This produces a much higher order (much weaker) field than the electrostatic field. The fields of two such assemblies, such as produced by two hydrogen atoms, produce a force of attraction between the two assemblies. We have concluded that this is the mechanism of gravity.

The predominant present day theory of gravitation was evolved by Einstein. In this theory mass produces a warp in space which causes matter to attract other matter.