Relativity and epicycles - plasma physics and the electro-magnetic universe

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The complex sets of equations employed in metric tensors and Lorentzian transformations remind me of the epicycles that mathematicians used to calculate in an attempt to explain the movements of the planets while maintaining an Earth-centered model of the universe.

An oversimplified explanation of metric tensors is that they explain the different experiences of space-time between observers who are traveling at different velocities, assuming that at least one of them is moving at a velocity that is closer to the speed of light than what we experience inside Earth's gravity well.

It seems to me that we need a simpler model of space-time, just as the medieval astronomers needed a simpler model of the solar system.

The model that appeals most to me is electro-magnetic in nature. When gravity is removed from the equations, and replaced with electro-magnetism, it becomes possible to unify the field theories and achieve a much simpler model of space-time than those which employ strings and ten or eleven dimensions. This might be the beginning of the "theory of everything".

Edward Leedskalnin, who built the Coral Castle in Florida, said that he had discovered that gravity was electro-magnetic in nature. Perhaps that is how he managed to move huge blocks of stone with no outside help. He also claimed that he had discovered the secret of the Egyptian pyramid-builders. Perhaps they had found a way to align the magnetic dipoles inside huge stones, using magnetic repulsion to make them light enough to move into place.

In any case, the theory that I am developing involves four kinds of matter. You probably have heard of matter and anti-matter, but I postulate two additional kinds of matter, for a total of four, which I denote ++, --, +- and -+, like the four squares on a Cartesian plane. If matter (++) and anti-matter (--) meet, they mutually annihilate. However, if matter (++) or anti-matter (--) meets one of the other two types, +- or -+, they only partially annihilate, releasing energy without total destruction of either type of matter.

These other two types of matter, in my model, consist of plasma, the fourth state of matter. Most of us are familiar with the three states of matter, as illustrated by water, which is a solid when frozen, a liquid when melted and a gas when evaporated. The fourth state, plasma, exists when the molecules are ripped apart, so you no longer have water, but you have a gas-like cloud of ionized atoms. The molecules have been ripped apart, leaving their constituent atoms, and the electrons have been removed from the nuclei, so the plasma is ionized. The nuclei have a positive charge, while the electrons have a negative charge.

We can see a plasma in a neon sign or a fluorescent light bulb. Plasmas are common throughout the universe, even in what we regard as "empty" space.

When an electrical current runs through a plasma, matter can form. In fact, it forms in such a way that it can easily explain why some galaxies (such as our own Milky Way) are spiral discs. If they were formed by the force of gravity, then all the galaxies ought to be spherical, not flattened.

More later - my head hurts.

8-)

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New photos of Phobos, a moon of Mars

During a flyby on March 7, the Mars Express spacecraft took new photos of Phobos, a potato-shaped moon that measures about 2o miles on its long axis.

Phobos is puzzling. According to data from fly-by spacecraft, its composition is similar to a type of asteroid called carbonaceous chondrite, but if it is a captured asteroid, then it is difficult to explain how it came into an equatorial orbit with only one side of the moon facing Mars at all times.

The Russian Federal Space Agency plans to put a lander on Phobos in 2011 to scoop up some soil and send it back to Earth for analysis.

New Photos Show Potential Landing Sites on Mars Moon
By SPACE.com Staff

In a late-night radio interview on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, researcher Richard Hoagland discussed the possibility that Phobos is an artificial satellite that was bombarded with dust in the ancient past, leading to its present appearance.

Richard Hoagland

Coast to Coast

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