Article 0 - Historical Background of the Aether

This document commences by examining the record of the ancient Greek philosophers, and in particular Pythagoras. The work of Pythagoras (570-490BC) is still to be seen at the axiomatic level of the derivation of most modern theories of matter, space and time - inclusive of Quantum Theory and the Theory of Relativity. It is evident that Pythagoras also believed in "the fifth element" - which he called the aether or the aither. This article examines the emergence of thought in the ancient western civilisation concerning the aether, and then that of the ancient eastern civilisation which used the term "Akasha"

"There exist in nature, no attractive forces.
There exist in GR, no static solutions to the universe.
There exist in QM, no static solutions to particles.
All of nature is resonant, and aether condenses." - Ross Tessien

Article 2 - Neoetherics ... Jerry Shifman

Over a period of more than twenty years, I have worked out a way of visualizing gravity that is based on a hydrodynamic ether. The underlying premise is that mass is an action of ether, and that the "gravitation" effects observed near a mass can be understood by understanding this etheric action.

My model brings into vivid clarity the identity between gravity and acceleration. That is, it becomes transparently obvious that gravity and acceleration are identically the same thing. But far more interesting, this model provides an alternate explanation for the red shift. More correctly, it demonstrates a second explanation that could be operating in conjunction with the familiar explanation based on an expanding universe.

The principles of Neoetherics are presented through illustrations and thought experiments. No equations more complex than f = ma are used. ... Jerry Shifman - Thu, 6 Feb 1997, UseNet: alt.sci.physics.new-theories

The theory of harmonics by Ray Thomes is based upon a study of cycles which are manifest across a diverse range of phenomena and disciplines. >From cosmological and astronomical scales, to the subatomic, the theory of harmonics postulates the existence of an aether, and presents an account not in conflict with existing observation. The following is an extract of one of Ray's posts to UseNet:
Imagine a sort of ideal gas made of one size of particles. Suppose that it has been all stirred up and contains lots of waves and vortices. The vortices themselves can also behave like particles and can propagate waves too, but this is a second order effect and the velocity will be lower than the waves in the gas itself. It is further possible for the waves in the vortices to produce further vortices and again the velocity will be slower. This process can occur without limit if we have enough gas and enough time to stir and observe.

Now I want to suggest that the universe is filled with a gas which is something like this and I will call it the aether. This aether will have a wave propagation speed of about 10^15 cm/s which is very much faster than light. The field which is represented by the pressure of the aether is I think the gravitational field of GR.

Note that I am suggesting that gravity waves propagate at a much higher velocity than the conventional idea, but there is no observational evidence that this is wrong, and it is in good agreement with the commonsense observation concerning the direction of the gravitational field. The traditional view of this is different in theory but not in practice.

The locations that we observe to have matter are actually low density aether regions. A black hole would be an aether vacuum. This is similar to a tornado having a very low internal pressure and density. The vortices which exist in the aether can interact also and as a result they make another field. I will call this the ether. It will be the ether of Maxwell's theory that carries the elctromagnetic fields. It has a propagation velocity that we call the speed of light, but does vary from place to place depending on the density and pressure of the aether. This is why space is considered bent by gravity in GR, but it is better to think of space as straight and the velocity of light as variable.

Note that the spelling of Aether for grAvity and Ether for Electromagnetism was chosen as an easy memory aid.

The subject of vortices and the equations which apply to them were fully calculated by Kelvin in 1880 and lead to exactly the correct equations for electromagnetism as explained by Paul Stowe [ed: See Article 21] in a recent post. He also reports that this is covered in "A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity" by E Whitaker, Dover, 1989. - Ray Tomes

Article 4 - The Painted Pony and other publications ... Glird

" It is our thesis that a continuum of substance fills all space in the known cosmos; that it is an amorphous fluid; that it is everywhere and always the conducting medium for energies; that this material is subject to changes of volume hence is intrinsically compressible; that pressure changes alter the degree of compression of this material; that under the influence of such pressure-density patterning, self persisting units of material occur; and that such units, always contiguous either to each other or to material in unorganized free form, are the things out of which ponderable matter is made." - Glird

Article 7 - Michaelson-Morley Misinterpretation

"Now that Einstein has convinced us that the speed of light is a constant, the basic concept of the experiment seems naive at best. But at the time, it was enough to disprove the existence of the aether. Later, the photoelectric effect showed that light had properties similar to a particle, and if it could move around as a particle, it certainly didn't need a medium. The question is, did the baby go out with the bath water. Although the experiment had a significant impact historically, its impact was in a negative result. It tells us nothing about a medium, and according to our current understanding, it had no chance of providing any information ..... If Light is a Wave, What is Waving?".

Article 9 - The Myth of Quantum Consciousness ... by Victor J. Stenger

Published in The Humanist, May/June 1992, Vol. 53, Number 3, pp. 13-15 this article provides an interesting account of the historical development of the aether from the perspective of modern theories of a quantum mind/consciousness:
"The belief in a universal, cosmic fluid pervading all space is an ancient one. To the Greeks, aether was the rarified air breathed by the gods on Olympus. Aristotle used this term for the celestial element - the stuff of the heavens - and said it was subject to different tendencies than the stuff of earth. When Newton was prompted to explain the nature of gravity in non- mathematical terms, he replied that gravity might be transmitted by an invisible aether. He further suggested that the aether also may be responsible for electricity, magnetism, light, radiant heat, and the motion of living things that he, like his contemporaries, thought was the consequence of some source beyond inanimate matter. Even today, despite the preponderance of evidence unavailable to Newton that life is a purely material phenomenon, people still speak of immaterial{,} vital forces such a ch'i, ki, prana, andpsychic energy which have no scientific basis.

Newton also had proposed that vibrations of the aether might be excited by the brain. This speculation forms the conceptual foundation for the modern myth of quantum consciousness and the related belief that the human mind commands special powers - psychic forces - that transcend the material universe.

Newton had envisioned matter and light to be particulate in nature, though they appear continuous to the human eye. Gravity, however, seemed to be something else, acting invisibly - holistically - over the entire universe. In the mid-nineteenth century, the mathematical concept of the field was developed to describe the apparent continuity of matter, light, and gravity. A field has a value at each point in space, in contrast to the properties of a particle which are localized to a tiny region of space. To some current observers, fields are holistic entities while particles typify the reductionist view of nature, where everything is reduced to its parts. Holists, with great profundity, inform us that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and so the reductionist view must be discarded. Note, however, that fields were not invented last week, after some great burst of intuition by a Capra or a Lanza, but appeared in reductionist physics over a century ago. Little in the new holism is really very new, or very logical.

Pressure and density are two examples of matter fields. In continuous elastic media, pressure an density propagate as sound waves when the media are excited. As the phenomena of electricity and magnetism became better understood, they were also described in terms of fields. When Maxwell discovered that the equations which united electricity with magnetism called for the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum at the speed of light, it was suggested that the vacuum was not empty but filled with an elastic medium - the aether - whose excitation produced the phenomenon of light.

Electromagnetic waves beyond the narrow spectrum of visible light were predicted and soon observed and put to use in "wireless telegraphy." One of the early workers in wireless telegraphy was the English physicist Oliver Lodge. While making major contributions to physics and engineering, Lodge joined William Crookes, Alfred Russel Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution) and other notable nineteenth century scientists in searching for phenomena that transcended the world of matter." - Victor J. Stenger.

Article 11 - Aether Theory ... Frank Meno

"As an alternative to the current unsatisfactory situation in physics and philosophy, I am proposing a new model of the aether to describe the physical reality. (Yes, aether, but this one is Lorentz invariant, and therefore the Michelson-Morley experiment does not invalidate its existence.)

In this model the known extent of the physical universe is filled with the aether, which is a highly compressed very hot gas. The particles that make up this gas are called gyrons because the necessary physical properties of the aether emerge from the gyroscopic behavior of these fundamental particles that have a special identical oblong form. The length of each gyron is assumed to correspond to the Planck length which is 1.616 X 10(-35) meter. Thus, for example, the proton, with a size on the order of 10(-15) m, which is considered to be a rotational dynamic state in the aether, is of galactic proportion relative to the gyron. Thus, such entities as the electron and proton, that are currently termed "fundamental particles", are viewed as particular rotational flows (vortices) involving large numbers of gyrons.

Due to the special shape of the gyrons, the aether, as a fluid, has very complicated properties that account for all such phenomena as charge, magnetism, spin, gravitation, and neutrinos. Photons and DeBroglie waves in turn correspond to spin and compressional waves in this fluid. - Frank Meno.

Article 12 - Model Mechanics - The Aether, Yes or No ... Ken Seto

The consequences of these two interpretations of space give rise to two camps of physics: In the aether - no camp we have the combined theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. In the aether - yes camp we have Model Mechanics. Obviously, only one of these camp has a chance to be right (either there is aether or no aether) and the problem is to determine which camp is right. The purpose of this posting is to lay out the current state of the art and the experimental facts of both camps and let the readers decide. - Ken Seto, Physicist.

Article 13 - Dissidents Challenge Physics Theory ... Billy Goodman

The full title of this article, published in The Scientist, Vol:9, #10, pg 3, May 15, 1995) is "AAAS Gives Dissident Group A Chance To Challenge Physics Theory", and an extract follows:
The dissidents, by and large, champion a theory of light popular before Einstein, which has its roots in Newtonian mechanics. In a Newtonian paradigm, the speed of light can vary, depending on the motion of the observer relative to the light. Most of the dissidents argue for the existence of an aether--a medium within which light waves propagate, just as water waves move in water. Physicists say the aether was disproved by the Michelson-Morley experiment a century ago, which did not detect any difference in travel time--as it should have if there is an aether--for two beams of light traveling perpendicular but equidistant paths.

Clifford Will, a specialist in relativity at Washington University in St. Louis, agrees with Chappell on at least one point: The dissidents cannot publish in mainstream journals. "They are not in mainstream journals [because] they are wrong," he declares.

"Special relativity has been confirmed by experiment so many times that it borders on crackpot to say there is something wrong with it. Experiments have been done to test special relativity explicitly. The world's particle accelerators would not work if special relativity wasn't in effect. The global positioning system"--which uses satellites to help determine the exact location on Earth of anything possessing a special transmitter--"would not work if special relativity didn't work the way we thought it did."

Will, asserts Chappell, is "way off base. The global positioning system provides evidence against special relativity and for the existence of an aether."

Article 15 - Dramatis Personae of Aether Drift ... Chronological perspective

This document represents an historical timeline of events and people concerned with the theories of aether and the attempts to experimentally detect it. Michelson, Morley, Miller, & Other Important Figures Associated with Interferometry & Aether Theories, and includes old photographs.

Article 16 - What Holds The Universe Together? ... Lambert Dolphin

"Modern Quantum Mechanics and the Theory of the Vacuum now suggests that enormous amounts of outside energy flow into every atom, every molecule of the universe from outside the known universe. To show how this may be happening a laymen's introduction to the Aether (ether) is in order." - Lambert Dolphin.

Article 17 - The Orgone Research of Wilhelm Reich ... James DeMeo

This article is a response to Martin Gardner's Attack on Reich and Orgone Research in the Skeptical Inquirer, and was prepared by by James DeMeo, Ph.D., Director of the Orgone Biophysical Research Lab, which is concerned with the building upon the discoveries of the Late Natural Scientist, Wilhelm Reich, M.D.
All this harkens back to a similar, historically important difference between the world views of Galileo, history’s greatest empiricist, and Newton, a man who was preoccupied with theology. Galileo looked to the energetic aether as probable prime mover, at work in the here and now. He was antagonistic towards "revealed truth", and demanded that his critics reproduce his experiments before making judgments, to "look into the telescope". But not so Newton, who argued for dominance of the Church over matters of experimental science. He proclaimed the aether to be static and immobile, without a shred of evidence in order to eliminate its participation in the ordering and movements of the Heavens. That role, he believed, belonged only to the Christian anthropomorphic God. Newton’s theological restraints on scientific inquiry have remained to this day, and are even championed by a scientistic community bent on a near total denial of the bioenergetic in the natural world.

In the late 1800s, Michelson and Morley searched for but did not detect Newton’s static aether. But their student, Dayton Miller, did detect and fully document a moving, dynamic, metal reflectable form of it. And so did Reich, who discovered this same dynamic energy as the sensible and measurable sexual-biological-cosmic orgone energy. Reich’s works not only undermine many popular "facts" regarding human behavior and the origins and functioning of life, but also all the various mechanistic and mystical theories of science which demand the absence of a dynamic energy in the natural world. Gardner and the CSICOP gang oppose Reich not because he failed to provide good empirical evidence for such an energy, but for just the opposite reason, because he did.

"When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign:
that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him." - Jonathan Swift

"The properties of light have perplexed scientists ever since humans were capable of giving it thought. Newton thought of light as showers of particles. Young and Fresnel gave evidence for light as waves. Maxwell concluded: "Light consists of electromagnetic waves," after combined electricity and magnetism in his electromagnetic wave theory. If Maxwell's statement is true, then what do the waves travel in, since mechanical waves have to propagate in some medium?

This paper is a brief investigation of that medium- called the ether. If light truly is a wave, then an ether is essential.

The properties of the hypothesized ether are very unusual. One type of medium is required by Maxwell's electromagnetic equations. Yet another type of medium is required from the noninterference of the ether with motions of bodies in our universe. - Amara Graps

Article 21 - A Framework Hypothesis for the ZPE Field ... Paul Stowe

Enclosed below is a framework hypothesis for a definition of the so called ZPE field. It is aetheric in nature but you might find it interesting and entertaining. It represents over 22 years of research and it is provided in a spirit of cooperation and hope.

The discovery by Max Planck.s in 1900 that the emission of thermal radiation could only occur in discrete quantities related to a emission constant (called Planck's constant) and the subsequent evolution of quantum mechanics, has resulted in an inability to establish a standard foundation for all classes of physical phenomena. Recent efforts not withstanding (Superstring theories, SU(3)XSU(2)XU(1) ...etc), there still remains a distinct separation of quantum mechanics from other branches of physics, notably general relativity. This discussion suggests a common foundation for all physical phenomena and derives the known physical constants (h, e, o, µo, , R). It also provides for the manifestation of the four known forces as well as a simple explanation of there existence.

Article 22 - Post Relativistic Gravity ... and quantization thereof - Ilja Schmelzer

Postrelativistic gravity may be interpreted as a classical ether theory as well as a minor modification of general relativity. It revives Newtonian space and time as hidden variables in general relativity. The differences (no nontrivial topologies, no part behind the horizon for black hole collaps) are de-facto not possible to observe in the classical domain.

The ether is simply described by the field g_ij(x,t), is dynamical and interacts with matter via the Einstein equations. Thus, gravity is the result of the interaction of matter with the dynamical ether: matter -> ether -> other matter. g⁰ⁱ/g⁰⁰ can be interpreted as the ether velocity.

The author hopes that, because the configuration space of this theory is different from general relativity, canonical quantization will be much simpler compared with canonical quantization of general relativity. Some of the quantization problems of general relativity are not present (different topologies, black hole singularity, local energy density, problem of time). - Ilja Schmelzer

Article 23 - Aether and the Theory of Relativity ... Albert Einstein

The article consists of the text of an address delivered on May 5th, 1920, in the University of Leyden. It commences with the following question:
"HOW does it come about that alongside of the idea of ponderable matter, which is derived by abstraction from everyday life, the physicists set the idea of the existence of another kind of matter, the ether? The explanation is probably to be sought in those phenomena which have given rise to the theory of action at a distance, and in the properties of light which have led to the undulatory theory. Let us devote a little while to the consideration of these two subjects." - Albert Einstein.

Article 24 - The RAPR Dissident Physics Newsletter ... Millennium Twain

The RAPR (Ratbag Antiphysics Rag) Dissident Physics Newsletter archive commences from June 1994 and presents a huge resource of alternate theories of the cosmos and the phenomena thereof. It would appear that there are many intelligent voices who are not given the opportunity to voice their researched observations in the current peer_review system of the (traditional) sciences. Will the next breakthrough in the conceptualisation of the cosmos emerge from this consortium?
"The aether (and all nature) is NON-Euclidean. [Also non-Riemannian and non-Lobachevskiian.] Nature is continuous, and self-connected. The evolution from the helical EMG wave of light -- to closed electrons, to doubly-closed protons, to all conglomerations of lateral and longitudinal (filamentary) matter -- is painfully trivial compared to the nonsense and lies of the church of physics. The simplest interpretation, and most correct, of Michelson-Morley is that -- light is the aether! (Both signal and carrier waves are the aether!) The aether is not a gas (except in gaseous/atmospheric enviroments, which are almost nonexistent in the cosmos). The aether is light and plasma -- with an insignificant amount of gas, liquid and solid thrown in as contaminant.

If you want to follow-up the (very) few people in the world who HAVE taken an interest in uncovering and communicating the nature and structure of the aether -- I would refer to you my mirror webpages, and the dozens of dissident references from my five papers on the topics. Particular names include Robert Carroll, Milo Wolff, David Bergman, Winston Bostick, Charles Yost et al at Electric Spacecraft Journal, John Keely, Viktor Schauberger, Nikola Tesla, Dale Ponds, Guy Obolensky, Francisco Muller, David French, Thomas G. Barnes, Ronald J. Kovac, Donald Reed.and some others I will regret in not calling immediately to mind. Most of these natural scientists are not represented on the web at this point in time. [See listings in my RAPRS ... above] - Millennium Twain (Jan'97)

Article 25 - A Theory of the Etherial Space of Newton and Einstein ... Henry H. Lindner

Einstein stated that Newton's mechanics and his own general theory attributed physical qualities to space and were therefore ether theories. But he did not realize that they were thus incompatible with his anti-etherial special and photonic theories. This is the origin of the schism in physics. In order to eliminate this schism, and create a coherent theory of motion, a new model of the ether is needed. A physical interpretation of Einstein's principle of equivalence and Newton's escape velocity leads to the hypothesis that gravity is due to the acceleration and velocity of a physical space which flows into all mass. This concept exposes the Congruence of the escape velocity and the apparent velocity of atomic clocks at any given point outside of a mass. The Congruence unites the concepts and predictions of Newtonian mechanics, general relativity, and special relativity. It leads to a very simple derivation of general relativity's formula for the Schwarzschild radius. It specifies the unique frame in which light moves at c and in which the Lorentz transformations describe the actual slowing of atomic clocks. The equations of the ether's flow imply compression of the ether near mass. Gravitational lensing and the gravitational red shift are reinterpreted according to this theory. This simple and objective theory specifies the motion of space, and thus of mass and light everywhere in the Cosmos and so can be tested in many ways.

Article 27 - Metaphysics, Metamath ... Ray DeBiase

The observational writings of Ray DeBiase cover a wide subject area and are a pleasure to read. It was difficult to ascertain therefore a suitable introductory quotation to his work to place here however, due to the editors pre-occupation with the activity of Oceanic Surfing for the last 34 years, I could not pass up the opportunity of the following:
Imaging your standing on a balcony overlooking the ocean. You can see individual waves on the surface and you can note their position at any point in time. You can tell they have momentum by the way they crash against the shore. Now it occurs to you that while an individual wave moves towards shore, it follows a relatively straight line and remains in tack as if it had an existence of its own. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as a particle, you could call it a surfiton. It would behave the same way an electron does when it goes through a double slit, so it should be possible to develop a set of mathematical laws to describe its behavior. The main problem with this model is that as you move closer and closer to the surfiton, it will be hard to tell where its borders are, and if you look closely enough, eventually you'll just be soaking your head.

Article 28 - KeelyNet - From an Art to a Science ... Jerry Decker

The beginnings of the KeelyNet BBS stem from a period over 8 years ago, and consist of a multitude of collected information relating to a broad spectrum of lesser known research. Jerry is at present in the process of bringing much of the archived KeelyNet information online to the web, however each week and each month new information from researchers in various fields of endeavour, articles related to non-traditional scientific approaches and other material sources, are posted in update of this site.

Alan Pendleton presents an evolving compendium of issues surrounding the questionability of SR (Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity) which include some extremely interesting information, observations, commentary and analysis from many different sources. Perhaps one of the most interesting articles is entitled "The 20th century Michelson-Morley" in which the 1979 experiment of Brillet and Hall is examined with a critical eye by a number of parties. The following snippets appear from the 20th century Michelson-Morley page:
"They also found a frequency shift of 17 Hz at twice the table rotation rate, which they could not explain, dependent on direction of the interferometer with respect to the lab. It is this effect which is predicted by an entrained ether theory. Brillet and Hall called it a "persistent spurious signal."

And extracted from the work of Aspden (1981): "Interpreting the 17 Hz signal at the second harmonic of table rotation found by Brillet and Hall in relation to the laser frequency 8.85 x 10^13 Hz we find the ratio 1.92 x 10^-13 and, as this is 0.131(v/c)^2, we find that v/c is 1.21 x 10^-6, giving v as 363 m/s. If our theory is correct then, within the errors of measurement, this should be the west-east speed of earth rotation at Boulder, Colorado. Being at 40 N, Boulder has, in fact, an earth rotation speed of 355 m/s."

Nikola Tesla used ancient Sanskrit terminology in his descriptions of natural phenomena. As early as 1891 Tesla described the universe as a kinetic system filled with energy which could be harnessed at any location. His concepts during the following years were greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda was the first of a succession of eastern yogi's who brought Vedic philosophy and religion to the west. After meeting the Swami and after continued study of the Eastern view of the mechanisms driving the material world, Tesla began using the Sanskrit words Akasha, Prana, and the concept of a luminiferous ether to describe the source, existence and construction of matter. This paper will trace the development of Tesla's understanding of Vedic Science, his correspondence with Lord Kelvin concerning these matters, and the relation between Tesla and Walter Russell and other turn of the century scientists concerning advanced understanding of physics. Finally, after being obscured for many years, the author will give a description of what he believes is the the pre-requisite for the free energy systems envisioned by Tesla.
"There manifests itself in the fully developed being , Man, a desire mysterious, inscrutable and irresistible: to imitate nature, to create, to work himself the wonders he perceives.... Long ago he recognized that all perceptible matter comes from a primary substance, or tenuity beyond conception, filling all space, the Akasha or luminiferous ether, which is acted upon by the life giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence, in never ending cycles all things and phenomena. The primary substance, thrown into infinitesimal whirls of prodigious velocity, becomes gross matter; the force subsiding, the motion ceases and matter disappears, reverting to the primary substance." - Nikola Tesla, 1907

Article 31 - Light, Atoms, Galaxies and Gravity ... John Sefton

The Galaxy Pattern is created when a ring of 16 equally spaced members is rotating at a constant rate and at the same time is revolving at exactly twice that rate. It is a spherical pattern composed of eight identical closed pathways separated by 45 degrees. Each pathway contains two members, which are always opposite each other and moving in exactly opposite directions. All member of course are always in the same two dimensional plane. Interestingly, the growth of concentric rings of 16 members may be related directly to the growth of successive shells of the Periodic Table ..." John Sefton

Article 32 - Clerk Maxwell & The Nature of the Electromagnetic Field ... Albert Einstein

This article briefly touches on the aether hypothesis of Clerk Maxell, the pioneer of the scientific specifications of the Electromagnetic Field equations. The article consists of two summaries of the work of Clerk Maxwell: the first by TF Torrance, in his introduction as an editor to the book James Clerk Maxwell - A Dynamic Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, and the second is an article written by Albert Einstein, in 1931, to commemorate the centenary of Maxwell's birth, and which outlines the scientific specifications of the nature of physical reality. Einstein places the work of Maxwell in perspective alongside the other major strands of research and theory in the scientific program.

One further reason that this article has been included is due to the editor's contention that the nature of the aether and the nature of the Ocean of Light are closely related, for both represent holistic cosmic phenomena.

The abstract of this article reads as follows:
A review of the basics of special and general relativity. The basis of both special relativity and general relativity is superfluid equations -- Maxwell's equations for special relativity and generalized superfluid equations for general relativity. Demonstration that a superfluid aether results in both special and general relativity as special cases. Resolution of the Feynman arguments against an aether as a gravitational source. Discussion of the Thirring-Lenz experiment tending to confirm physical aether medium versus "mathematical" or "continuum" cause of gravity.

This site represents the work of Caroline Thompson on a number of subjects, many of which have been published in respected academic scientific magazines. Analysis of contemporary EPR Experiments, such as those of Apect, and other papers provide well researched evidence why Caroline writes "Despite all difficulties, I think we shall eventually have to bring back the aether. Some difficulties are not that bad." While the technical papers available at the site are being converted from postscript to html, their author has the following to say in reference to the aether:
"There are many things that we now, collectively, know that tell us things about the aether. We do not recognise them, though. We have not been allowed to talk about the aether in the "proper" journals, so we have not been able to communicate. This absurd situation has been going on most of this century, so that we have been completely wasting time, mental effort and the chance for everyone to feel at one with the universe.

I am very much against the idea that understanding of the universe should be the prerogative of an elite. The evidence is that mathematics in fundamental physics is largly counterproductive - it only confuses, and encourages people to try for their PhDs by adding to the tangled web of self-sustaining intellectual fantasy, without gaining any deeper knowledge of the wonderful intricacy, fantastic forces that create and organise matter, with a continuous gradation from elementary fluctuations of some basic "phi" to galaxies, life, and our ability to wonder at all of this."

Article 36 - Casimir Effect Paradigm ... by Henry C. Warren Jr

Einstein believed he had eliminated the need for an ether with Special Relativity, but with General Relativity, he in effect substituted space itself for that ether. In a 1920 lecture Einstein acknowledged the necessity of an ether, although he insisted that the properties of the ether must not violate Special Relativity. What GR did in effect was rename the ether and call it space; an unfortunate choice of terminology as it makes intentional reference to truly empty space, difficult. Most physicists seem unclear regarding this issue most of the time, sometimes referring to space as if it were truly empty and at other times as if it were substantive. This makes for sloppy thinking. Thus, I prefer using the expression fabric of space without spelling out precisely the nature of that fabric. It may be that the plank length is an indicator of the mesh of this fabric, but this may be an artifact of the fact that we and our measuring devices are electromagnetic in nature.

In my suggested paradigm I have reluctantly gone more or less with the flow and speak of "space" and the fabric of or in space interchangeably. I sense possible similarities between the strings of some modern theories and the fluctuations of some Casimir type models and the aetherons of some ether based theories. With that and Einstein's 1920 lecture in mind, I periodically put ether in parenthesis after space, on the understanding that any theory which rejects action at a distance and assigns physical properties to space is an ether theory. Coming full circle, I reiterate that the precise nature of space (ether) has yet to be comprehended, at least by me and I doubt anyone else.

Article 37 - Subquantum Kinetics: The Alchemy of Creation - by Paul A. LaViolette
Although this article represents the solicitation of purchace for the above referenced book by its author, the subject matter of of the theory of Subquantum Kinetics (SQK) certainly qualifies as an emergent scientific theory of the ancient cosmic aether. In a separate page where a comparison is tabulated between SQK and the conventional physics, astronomy, cosmology, philosophy and metaphysics, we find the following ideas presented:
"Whereas special and general relativity are as yet not in alignment concerning the Sagnac, Silvertooth, and Ampere force law experiments, the subquantum kinetics (SQK) ether concept is supported by these experiments. The big bang theory proposes the counterintuitive notion that the universe emerged out of a state of nonexistence, however SQK avoids this problem, and proposes that physical form emerged from a preexisting ether substrate. SQK explains in detail how subatomic particles arise from subquantum fluctuations in the ether. And while the philosophy of science is based on positivism, does not recognize the existence of an unobservable spiritual realm and contradicts mystical teachings, SQK derives from general systems principles, admits the possibility of an unseen realm and harmonizes with mystical teachings."

Article 38 - The Institute for New Energy - by Dr. Patrick Bailey
The Institute for New Energy (INE) is a membership organization whose monthly newsletter "The New Energy News" (NEN) reports the latest findings in New Energy research. The Institute's primary purpose is to promote research and educate society of the importance of alternative energy. It is also related to the International Association For New Science, whose goal it is to institute a paradigm shift in science and healing. The informational resources offered by the INE website are extensive, and cover a variety of issues. There are a number of articles here which are related to conceptions of the aether:
• Light is the Ghost of Mass - By Chuck Bennett

  Sourced from NEN, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 1997, Special Edition, p. 8., this article reviews a number of new approaches to the aether, such as the following example:

  "The quantization of the aether can be explained by the view that the aether consists of a sea of particles that are on the order of a million times lighter than the electron. The mass range of the particles is in the range for the spectrum of all light photons. Therefore, the aether simply consists of a medium of "condensed photons." Then light can be viewed as evaporated mass and mass as condensed light ... [and light can be considered] a "hole" in the quantized aether that travels as a perturbation opposite the knocking action of the particles that comprise the medium. This is why light can be thought of as "the ghost of mass."

• The Adams and Aspden Motor Patent - By Harold Aspden

  Sourced from NEN, Vol. 4, No. 8, December 1996, pp. 1-7, this article presents an in-depth review of the more recent scientific controversy surrounding aether theory. This narration surrounds discussion of the history of the development of the Adams Motor and the Adams-Aspden Patent, one of the more renown Over-Unity devices. The author - Dr. Harold Aspden (See Article 38 below), has also published a book entitled Aetheric Science Papers, and the following extract might serve as an introduction to this new area of research:

  "If the aether delivers energy on loan to you and you use it to run the motor as the poles come together but refuse to give it back, then the aether has to replenish itself by taking power from its own vast pool of energy activity. It merely ripples to find a new level of equilibrium just as the sea will recover if you take a bucket of water from it. Eventually, that energy borrowed finds its way back to the aether as we spend it by generating heat radiation."

Article 39 - Aether Science - New Energy Science needs New Physics - Dr. Harold Aspden
Resources consistent of books, research notes, tutorial notes, patents, reports, lectures and other articles gathered from contemplations and research of the nature of the aether over a period of some 30 years are available for review here.
"Physics that denies the existence of the aether offers no insight into the energy source from which the universe was created. It offers no destiny for spent energy radiated into outer space. It offers no regeneration mechanism for recycling energy. It offers instead a mere illusion of something called 'four-space', which provides no guidance whatsoever as we confront our needs for energy in a pollution-free environment. The only way forward is by back-tracking to see where science has strayed and then finding the answers in the new physics of Aether Science. - Dr. H. Aspden (1997)

In particular, interested readers are encouraged to review the growing series of The Aspden Lectures in which the work of a lifetime has been outlined for the benefit of the future generations, and the framework of a future science. In the preface to this lecture series, the author writes:
"You will be introduced to a limitless source of 'free energy' which we can harness to meet our future energy needs without polluting our planet. It is limitless because Nature conserves energy and if we use the energy Nature feeds to us in a consumable form, Nature has a way of recapturing that energy as we shed it and reprocessing it through its sub-quantum underworld to feed it back into its original form. Yes, you will learn to question what you read in contemporary textbooks which say that there are man-made laws preventing Nature from working in that way. But, as you learn, you will, I hope, become all the more interested in what I have to say, because it affects your future and the destiny of mankind." - Dr. H. Aspden (1997)

Article 41 - Rotating Wave Theory of the Electron - William H.F. Christie
ABSTRACT: I have reverted to the classical concepts of ether, space and time to develop a pure wave theory of the electron (or fermion) as a simple ROTATING WAVE. The essential postulate is that an electromagnetic wave is brought into classical rotation by a local binding energy. The spin model then yields the required phenomanae of charge, relativity, mass , gravity, and quantum mechanics in a naturally derived and graphic fashion.

Article 42 - Simple Relativity: Deeper Questions & the Aetheric Ocean - Floyd Creasey

This article represents Part 2 of a work which references the presentation of the aether by way of an explanation of inertial resistance:
A graph showing the distance from the skin of the airplane versus the amount of speed that the air moves in the direction of the airplanes motion, has a hyperbolic shape. The molecules of air immediately adjacent to the airplane skin move with the airplane, while the molecules far from the airplane skin are only negligibly affected by the passing airplane.

We can personally recognize this affect when we consider ourselves standing close to a passing truck. If we are very close, the wind associated with the passing truck is very strong. When we are some distance away from the passing truck, then the wind force is less strong.

The portion of the atmosphere around an airplane which is significantly affected by the passing aircraft, or tends to move along with the aircraft motion, is the source of the parasitic drag, and is referred to as the 'boundary layer' of air.

This boundary layer of air which tends to take on the currently existing velocity of the airplane contributes to the concept we call 'mass inertia' and attribute to the airplane rather than to the motion of the air surrounding that airplane.

I suggest that there is much more than just the boundary layer of air that is contributing to this concept of inertial resistance. The source of that additional factor lays with the 'aether' which, along with the atmosphere, is being disturbed as a result of the motion of the aircraft. - Floyd Creasey.

Article 43 - Radiant Pressure Model of Remote Forces - Stan Byers

I have included this article within this index of Aether Theories in order to provide exposure to a certain class of Radiant Pressure models of universal gravitation. Such models postulate the existence of a cosmic radiation which exerts pressure on matter, which in turn provide shielding relationships that may be used to naturally derive an inverse square geometry through "shadowing". Research into the history of this class of theories reveal that they have been discussed from a period of at least a few centuries ago through to their treatment by Feynman in the last decade. Their relationship to theories of aether, although tangential, is relevant to a number of issues such as may be perceived in the following extract from this article:
All forces that act through a distance are attributed to cosmic radiant pressure and shadowing by matter. All matter exists as interference patterns in the Inertial radiant frequencies of space. A surface gravity and/or radiant pressure limit are shown to exist when the radiant flow is totally shielded by large planets. The prime cause for the inverse square law is shown to be a natural result of shadowing geometry with distance. Data and graphs are presented indicating the gravitational shadowing for our Solar system planets.

Features of the theory include ...

• Inertial non electromagnetic non particulate radiation pervades all space and matter.
• This primordial radiation is designated Inertial radiation in this model.
• All matter exists as interference patterns or deformations in the Inertial radiant frequencies of space.
• Inertial radiant flow and shadowing cause all remote forces.
• Inverse distance squared formulas remain unchanged.
• Inverse distance squared is applicable for shadow area and shadow density.
• Gravitational shadowing shows a limit and topical variations.
• Gravity shows total shielding on large planets only.
• Radiation manifests an Inertial and EM spectrum.

- Stan Byers.

Article 44 - A Model of Matter in an Elastic Medium - Bjørn Karlsen

This article is actually consistent of an abstract and a fully developed paper which is quite heavy on the mathematical treatment of the subject matter, and reference many of the existent traditional scientific theories, including their development:
The resemblance between elastodynamics and electromagnetism has been known for a long time, and was first pointed out by Sir William Thomson (1824-1907) ...[and]... by redefining some of the terms used in elastodynamics in an elastic medium of infinite extension, one can readily show that Navier-Stokes’ equation can be brought over to a form that exactly matches that of Maxwell’s electromagnetic equations even when the equations are written out in a four-dimensional manifold. It will be necessary to interpret positive and negative charges as sinks and sources in the elastic medium, but I intend to show that such entities is in concordance with the model of material particles which I will discuss.

To represent matter in an elastic space, I will take point of departure in the fact that mass and energy are equivalent properties, and thus suppose that matter is a kind of energetic disturbances in the medium which is not allowed to disperse throughout the medium and die out. Confined energy of this kind will exert a pressure in the medium and will therefore displace a certain amount of medium matter, and I will suppose that the nature of matter can be linked to such confined energy and displacements. - Bjørn Ursin Karlsen (1998)

Article 45 - Aethro-Kinematics: Physics of the Third Millennium - Steven Rado

Interested parties will find the Aethro-Kinematics site of Steven Rado well researched and well presented, as new concepts are introduced in the format of a guided tour which makes use of appropriate graphics to assist in the description and derivation of a world_view wherein the cosmos is filled by an all-pervading superfine ideal gas:
"The philosophical notion that the cosmos is filled by a superfine gas, called Aether, originates from antiquity. Its mechanical version in classical physics was introduced by Christian Huygens in order to explain the transmission of light via compression waves, analogous to the transmission of sound in air. In this form Aether became the potential mediator of all mysterious 'action at a distance forces' such as gravity, magnetism and electricity. In the nineteenth century, the task of science seemed to be designing suitable fluid dynamical models utilizing Aether to explain each of those mysterious forces. Faraday and Maxwell nearly concluded this task with respect to the mysteries of magnetism and electricity. -- Nevertheless, one attempt to explain the polarization of light required the transverse oscillation of the transmitting medium, which could only be possible in a solid substance. This diversity in the models of Aether became a crucial problem in theoretical physics. Finally, at the turn of the twentieth century the Special Theory of Relativity discarded the Aether altogether.

Aethro-Kinematics renders an alternate mechanical solution for the polarization of light. Thus, it reinstates Faraday and Maxwell's gaseous model of the Aether and resumes the original task of exploring all 'action at a distance forces' as fluid dynamical behavior of the all-pervading Aether. -- In Aethro-Kinematics, Aether is taken as an all-pervading gas at an ultra-microscopic order of magnitude. The constituents of this medium, the 'Aethrons', are in constant random motion with perfectly elastic collisions, analogous to the atoms of an ideal gas. -- This system obeys the simple laws of the Kinetic Theory of Gases." - Steven Rado

Article 46 - Derivation of Newtonian Gravitation from LeSage's Attenuation Concept - Barry Mingst & Paul Stowe

This document works through a derivation of the current Newtonian gravitation equation by using the model proposed by George Lewis LeSage in 1784 , some centuries back, that one hypothetical explanation of the gravitational phenomenom as being the result of attenuation of what he described as ultra-mundane particles in material bodies.
"Once fully rendered, one will realize that gravitation is a connective process between matter and the ZPE (Zero Point Energy or aether) field. It not only produces the obvious result we call gravity, but also is the productive agent of elemental charge, inertia (which is why inertial mass is identical to gravitational mass), and the deBroglie wave phenomena.

This same model rears up again in modern physics in the form of the mathematical topology of string/super string theory as well as in superconductivity and superfluidity. Penrose's twistor is a vortex ring, as is a magnetic field. It is interesting to note that vortex rings can sustain transverse vibrations (analogous to guitar string vibration), indeed Kelvin proved mathematically that linear disturbances in a saturated 3D vortex fluid (he termed a vortex sponge) would produce propagation of pure transverse waves identical to the equations and properties that describe the propagation of light through space. It was this relationship as well as many others that caused this hypothesis to be considered seriously. It also is interesting to note that Maxwell used this conceptual model as the basis for his derivation of the EM relationships." - Barry Mingst and Paul Stowe

Article 47 - An Aether Model of the Universe - Dr Allen Rothwarf, Drexel University
The full paper (pdf) is currently only available in .pdf format, however it is a recommended reference from this compilation, and any researchers in this field are advised to study it. The scope of the work is extensive, and the results of the work will be of assistance in the following millennia, if not before. The abstract to this paper reads as follows:

An aether model based upon a degenerate Fermion fluid, composed primarily of electrons and positrons in a negative energy state relative to the null state or true vacuum, is proposed and its consequences are explored for physics and cosmology. The model provides both insight and quantitative results for a large number of phenomena for which conventional theory provides no answers or unsatisfactory answers. Among the concepts treated are: wave-particle duality, the nature of spin (a vortex in the aether), the derivation of Hubbles law; electric fields (polarization of the aether); Zitterbewegung (a bare particle orbiting within a vortex core); inflation in cosmology; the arrow of time; the Pauli exclusion principle (repulsion between parallel spin vortices); the nature of the photon (a region of rotating polarized aether propagating with a screw-like motion); neutrinos (a spin vortex with no particle in its core); redshifts; g-ray bursters; and a number of other topics. A key assumption is that the speed of light is the Fermi velocity of the degenerate electron-positron plasma that dominates the aether. As a consequence the speed of light decreases with time on the scale of the age of the universe.

Article 48 - Are There Aether Atoms? - Jack Martinelli

Wherever a massive object goes, in our universe, space is "curved" in its neighborhood. After the object leaves this neighborhood -- loosely speaking -- the space previously occupied reverts to its original state of flatness. I.e., space seems to have an elastic property. Elasticity however, as it is currently understood, is a result of electromagnetic interaction, which in turn is related to the constituents of material atoms. Additionally, wave propagation in solids, liquids and gasses depends on the presence, and electromagnetic properties, of atoms. A wavelike behavior is also characteristic of light. It seems like a reasonable guess that ‘the atoms of aether’ might exist and provide the underlying substrate that somehow (at the very least) implements the elasticity required for both gravity and light. - Jack Martinelli

Article 49 - EVE ~ a model of the AETHER - Carlos Laborde

The following abstract will serve as an introduction to this series of articles:
The "Eve" model of aether leans on Euclidean space, absolute time and the Galileo transformation. The simplest aether is postulated: it is made of point particles called aetherinos that do not interact with themselves but only with matter. Reference frames are postulated to exist in which all the aetherinos move in straight lines. The aetherino's speed distribution can change in space and time but at any given position and time the aetherinos define a local absolute reference frame relative to which the moving bodies can be said to have "absolute motion". It is therefore a classic model of aether. But in spite of its innocent appearance, with a little bit of simple mathematics, this model of aether is able to describe the mechanism of forces between material bodies, the laws of Newton, the concept of mass... The solution inferred from the model to the classic problem of finding an aether that does not slow down the moving "free" bodies is that the aether _does_ drag and slow down all material bodies, but since it does also slow down, at the same rate, the "material" clocks, it can be explained that the observer detects no slow down. The aberration of star light together with the Michelson Morley experiment can be understood realizing that the speed of light is always c relative to the _material_ detector and not necessarily to the frame of description. Other phenomena that can most probably be described by the model are the polarization of light, the mass increase with speed and the energy-mass equivalence. The semi-random behaviour of the aetherinos seems specially well suited to describe the quantum phenomena but this subject is not studied in the present version of this work. - Carlos Laborde

Article 50 - A New Approach to the Lorentz Transformations - Arlin J. Brown

The abstract to this article reads as follows:
By combining the wave nature of matter with contemporary ether theory, the Lorentz transformations are derived in both their conventional, "paradoxical," relative-time form as well as in their their non-paradoxical real-time form. The quantitative relationships between the resulting equations and the corresponding real and illusory quantities, such as time, distance, mass and velocity, are also derived. Many equations emerge in the process, including the reduction of the basic four Lorentz transformations to a single master equation. Since no other physical mechanism has ever been sucessfully offered to explain Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, it is prudent to explore an alternative modern light frame (ether) theory which can provide a non-contradicrory physical explanation of all experimental results of the predictions of relativity to date. - Arlin J. Brown

The purpose of this resource is to draw together in the one place
various theories of, or reference to, the "ancient cosmic aether"
which was, at one time, held by the wise,
to form the finest of substrates,
and the holistic continuum of nature.

Elsewhere on the web you will find other resource compilations which are concerned with the current status of Theories of Physics and the Cosmos in more general terms - such as the New and Alternative Theories of Physics WebSite maintained by Phil Gibbs, who also maintains the FAQ for sci.physics.

Today, practically all of the contemporary physics texts on the subject of space, time and the material structure of the cosmos are prefaced with an account of this "ancient belief". However, usually within a few short paragraphs, there is brought into play convincing justification to remove the idea in favour of a non-material mathematically derived quantum vacuum to which is attributed other markedly strange characteristics such as the Zero Point Field, or the fluctuating vacuum energy, or some other such permutation of design.

Despite this overwealming peer-reviewed state of affairs, there nevertheless exist, and have existed, individuals who have stated their disagreement with the contemporary theories of the physical sciences. Sometimes termed dissident, invariably termed "crack-pot", the scorn and derision of the status quo have not prevented these individuals to work away at their alternate theories concerning the nature of natural phenomena, here on earth and "out there", in the cosmos.

As the approach of the third millennium draws near, there has been a steady emergence of interdisciplinary scientific research and knowledge. Gradually it is being recognised that there exists, within many different aspects of, and on many different levels of natural phenomena, some form of systemic inter-connectedness. Examples of this include the work of Fritjof Capra in his writings - such as the "Tao of Physics" and "The Turning Point" , the developments of the "Gaia Theory" by the atmospheric chemist Dr. James Lovelock, and the successful acceptance of the Theory of Endosymbiosis by the (now) eminent microbioligist Dr Lynn Margulis. Further examples of this type of emergent thought might also be seen to be evident in the historical establishment of conferences formed in response to the first generic specifications Towards a Science of Consciousness.

Being a dedicated Oceanic Surfer, I am certainly one to be able to favour a more fluid - less particular and mechanistic - description of the cosmos. In fact, there is little doubt in my mind that the contemporary theories of the physical sciences are no more than fore-runners - stepping stones if you like - to a more general and unified system of thought which will have the potential of not only providing a holistic foundation for the interdisciplinary scientific fields, but will also extend the same platform for the disciplines which hitherto were classified under the "sub-directories" of the arts and social sciences.

It is for this reason that I have set forth to prepare this resource compilation. There exists no doubt in my mind that the sciences of the third millennium will draw more than what might be expected from the workings, theories and ideas presented in the index above. And if this thinking is correct, then the concept of the Aether will again be increasingly the subject of further research and contemplation, and the foundation for a new paradigm of cosmology and of life.

This resource is therefore dedicated to the research students - and in particular, those research students who see themselves to be the students of life.

Peace.

PRF Brown
BCSLS {Freshwater}
Mountain Man Graphics, Australia
- Southern Winter of 1996

E-Mail: prfbrown@magna.com.au

	Theories of the Aether Articles relating to the Emergence of Scientific Theories of the Cosmic Aether
"Thus he then classified living creatures into genera and species, and divided them in every way until he came to their elements, which he called the five shapes and bodies - aether, fire, water, earth and air." - Xenocrates, On the life of Plato
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