Classical Matter: Contents

Einstein’s special theory of relativity postulates that the speed of light is a constant for all inertial observers. This postulate can be used to derive the Lorenz transformations relating length and time measurements by different observers. In this paper it is shown that the Lorentz transformations can be obtained for any type of wave simply by defining distance to be proportional to wave propagation time. The special nature of light is that length and time measured by light propagation correspond exactly with length and time measured by material rulers and clocks. This suggests that material objects consist of waves propagating at the speed of light. Taking this as an alternative postulate for special relativity implies constancy of the measured speed of light without any recourse to non-Euclidean geometry of physical space-time. This alternative postulate is consistent with de Broglie’s wave hypothesis, with the Dirac velocity operator of quantum mechanics, and with experimental observations of transformations between matter and light.

Exact Description of Rotational Waves in an Elastic Solid (Adv. Appl. Clifford Algebras 21:273-281)

The dynamical behavior of an ideal elastic solid is arguably the most fundamental problem in theoretical physics, yet its mathematical description has eluded physicists – until now. Rotational (incompressible) waves in an elastic solid provide a physical interpretation of quantum mechanical operators and statistics.

The Classical Wave Theory of Matter (2011 .pdf format)

This is a undergraduate level book which uses classical wave theory to explain many properties of matter including Special Relativity, gravity, spin 1/2 'particles', and other wave characteristics of matter.

Torsion Waves in Three Dimensions: Quantum Mechanics with a Twist

Foundations of Physics Letters, Vol 15, No. 1, February 2002 . Available from SpringerLink. A classical physics derivation of the Dirac equation. See also Chapter 2 of The Classical Theory of Matter Waves.

Why There Are No Right-Handed Neutrinos (Or Other 'Mirror Matter') (.pdf)

Presentation at APS April Meeting, Denver, Colorado, May 2-4, 2009

The Mirror Symmetry of Matter and Antimatter (.pdf)

When viewed in a mirror, all known physical processes appear to proceed as if matter and anti-matter were exchanged. The simplest explanation for this observation is that spatial reflection (or parity operation) exchanges matter and anti-matter. Yet the prevailing opinion is that certain processes such as weak interactions have no physical equivalent to their mirror images. We resolve this dilemma by showing that the conventional Dirac parity operator is incorrect. The conventional derivation relies on a speculative relativistic argument which is unrelated to Lorentz invariance. We derive a new spatial reflection operator by requiring that for any orthogonal coordinate basis, all three axes must have the same parity. The new spatial reflection operator is is found to induce an exchange of matter and anti-matter, consistent with all experimental evidence. A new time reversal operator is also derived.

Parity, Time Reversal, and Relativity (.ppt presentation at APS Northwest Meeting, Portland, OR, May 15-17, 2007)

The Parity Illusion (.pdf presentation at APS California Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, October 17-18, 2008)

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http://home.online.no/ ~ukarlsen B. U. Karlsen "The Great Puzzle," 2003 updated from "Sketch of a Matter Model in an Elastic Universe," 1998.

This is a different attempt at a classical description of matter based on the elastic solid model.

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/relativity.html Relativity on the World Wide Web
Original by Chris Hillman; maintained by John Baez

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About the Author:

Dr. Robert A. Close holds a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in physics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Created: February 27, 2006; Last updated: January 6, 2012