Introduction - Experiments

Experiments to Test the Theory of Elementary Waves

This blog will test the ability of the Theory of Elementary Waves to explain key experiments from the 18th and 19th century. But that's not all. It will need to do so in a non-contradictory manner without resorting to some of the perplexing explanations of modern theories, such as a photon knowing the quickest path through a piece of glass before it follows that path (see refraction section).

The experiments mostly deal with light and magnetism, often grouped together as electromagnetic radiation. They were chosen because they have standard explanations that are at odds with what we observe in the everyday objects around us. For example, that a particle doesn't exist as a solid form until we decide to observe it. Clearly this isn't the case for apples or baseballs, but many modern day theories would have us believe it is true of particles such as photons, electrons and even atoms.

I have decided to start with the earliest experiments and work my way forward in time because these early experiments are the easiest for me to reproduce without expensive equipment. If the Theory of Elementary Waves can adequately explain these early experiments, I plan to start tackling the experiments of the 20th century such as the Wheeler's delayed choice experiment.

Briefly, these are the experiments I'll be covering:

• Refraction (Ptolemy, 140 AD): Light travels differently through water than air, causing a stick in water to look bent. The earliest know description of this effect is from Ptolemy. 
• My experiment: I'll look at laser light bending through plexiglass.
• One standard explanation: The light photon chooses the quickest path before it makes it's journey.
• Diffraction (Grimaldi, 1655): If light is forced through a small slit, rather than being limited to the width of the slit, it spreads out. And the smaller the slit, the more it spreads out. 
• My experiment: I'll look at a laser shone through various widths of slits.
• One standard explanation: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle predicts that the more precisely the position of a particle is known, the less precisely the momentum can be known. When the photon is restricted by the slit, it's momentum certainty increases and leads to the spreading out of the path after it passes through the slit.
• Double-slit experiment (Young, 1803): Passing light through two slits produces an interference pattern of waves, even if only single photons pass through the slits at one time. This suggests that particles can interfere with themselves, or be in two places at once. This experiment is the best demonstration of the wave-particle duality theory.
• My experiment: I'll reproduce the experiment using laser pointers and double slits on slides.
• One standard explanation: The single photon exists as a wave as it passes through the two slits and only becomes a particle when it is detected (by a photon counter, or by reflecting of a screen, or by interacting with an observer's eye).
• Ampere's Law (Ampere, 1825): When current flows in the same direction through two wires parallel to each other, the wires attracts and are pulled together. If the current flows in opposite directions, the wires repel and are pushed apart.
• My experiment: I'll set up the experiment with small wires and enough current to see the attractions and repulsion.
• One standard explanation: The current in each wire creates a magnetic field that then attracts the other wire.
• Faraday's Induction (Faraday, 1831): A changing current in one loop of wire produces a current in a nearby loop of wire.
• My experiment: I will try to recreate Faraday's original experiment from 1831.
• One standard explanation: The changing current in the first wire loop creates a changing magnetic field which passes through the second loop. The changing magnetic field in the area of the second loop creates a current, similar to how a moving magnet creates a current in electrical generators.
• Special Relativity (Fizeau, 1851): 

According to Lewis Little, one of the attractive features of the Theory of Elementary Waves is that it accounts for Special Relativity without any extra principles in the theory—special relativity is a consequence predicted by the theory. The theory also leads to an explanation for magnetic phenomena such as the attraction between two current-carrying wires. We will examine these claims and others, including an explanation of radio waves according to the theory.

One problem I've had in trying to understand the current paradigm of physics is that the theory or principle for a phenomenon is often stated along with its mathematical formalism, but the experimental details are lacking. This blog will take a different approach. First, the experiment will be described in detail, often with enough specifics so the reader can repeat the experiment at home if they desire. I believe this is essential if we are to test the ability of the Theory of Elementary Waves to explain reality.

So far, the Theory of Elementary Waves has made a lot of extraordinary claims. But what is it?

Next: What is The Theory of Elementary Waves?