Possible to publish a paper that contradicts Einstein's special relativity?

[gmax137]

My understanding (from reading mostly pop-sci), is that somehow Einstein knew about the anomalous precession of the perihelion of Mercury, and was able to accurately calculate the orbit using his new GR. So there is a place in orbital mechanics where "Newton is wrong" so to speak. Do we now have any examples where SR/GR predictions are known to be incorrect, or better said "not quite in accordance with observations"?

I'm not looking for "well, GR and QM don't get along" as that's too philosophical. A concrete example of observed results that don't match the GR prediction would be nice. Or, do the scientist experts believe SR/GR actually provides perfect predictions?

 

[Dale]

Moreover, one system being a special case of the other does not mean they are equivalent. The geometry of circles is not mathematically equivalent to the geometry of ellipses, even though the circle is a special case of the ellipse.

It does mean that they are equivalent when restricted to that special case. An ellipse is not mathematically equivalent to a circle, but an ellipse with both foci at the same point is.

I notice that the people who have been objecting to my language keep on dropping the restriction. The restriction is essential.

The Hafele-Keating experiment is evidence that Newtonian physics and Relativity are not equivalent, even within what might be expected to be the domain of applicability of Newtonian physics: airline travel.

Yes, which is why the precision of the experiment needs to be part of the specification of the domain. With new portable optical atomic clocks we should be able to do a similar experiment at walking speed.

 

[Dale]

Einstein knew about the anomalous precession of the perihelion of Mercury, and was able to accurately calculate the orbit using his new GR. So there is a place in orbital mechanics where "Newton is wrong" so to speak. Do we now have any examples where SR/GR predictions are known to be incorrect, or better said "not quite in accordance with observations"?

I think that galactic rotation curves are quite analogous to the Mercury situation. At the time, another planet called Vulcan was proposed as the source of the anomaly. Vulcan was never identified by other means and then GR was developed which explained the anomaly without Vulcan.

 

[russ_watters]

I certainly could be understanding it wrong, but I have always understood it as a shorthand for the limit as v/c goes to zero.

In this case since there are two velocities it is equivalent but easier to take the limit as c goes to infinity.

Ok, that's what I thought -- rather than say v is so small compared to c it may be zero, you're saying limit as c goes to zero, giving basically the same result. But the "<<" operator of "much less than" is qualitative and really means "too small to measure" or "too small to matter", right?

I notice that the people who have been objecting to my language keep on dropping the restriction. The restriction is essential.

Setting aside whether what you said means what I think you said, my objection is that you added the restriction in the first place. It creates a circular argument: they are mathematically identical in special cases we can specify where they are mathematically equivalent. Ok. In other cases they aren't mathematically equivalent, so let's talk about those. Clearly, one can make calculations using either method for cars driving on a highway and get answers that are different from each other. Not a lot different, but different nonetheless. Whether 100 km/hr satisfies "<< c" and we can safely ignore the difference isn't what matters to me. It matters that they are in, in fact, different.

Edit: for two cars passing each other at 30 m/s with respect to the ground, I get answers of 60 m/s and 59.99982 m/s.

 

[russ_watters]

I don't think that is true. There are quite a number of scientists who spend their whole career doing more and more accurate measurements to see if they can spot any difference between their measured values and what is predicted by theory. Some of this work is published in high-impact journals (see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2964-7 for a recent example.)

This is great, thanks. The abstract talks big-picture motivation, which is what I'm after here:

The standard model of particle physics is remarkably successful because it is consistent with (almost) all experimental results. However, it fails to explain dark matter, dark energy and the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the Universe. Because discrepancies between standard-model predictions and experimental observations may provide evidence of new physics, an accurate evaluation of these predictions requires highly precise values of the fundamental physical constants. Among them, the fine-structure constant

"...consistent with (almost) all experimental results."
"...fails to explain..."
"...discrepancies..."
"...may provide evidence of new physics..."

Is this wording really much different from the OP?
"... supported by most experiments..." (this is most concerning to me based on how weak it is worded).
"...contradicts..."

Or the post that started this sub-discussion:
"Wanting to disprove Einstein is a noble goal... if you can actually do it."

The only differences I see are differences in the strength of language.

If it seems like I'm flip-flopping positions (SR can be replaced / SR is complete and unworthy of further study) it's because I am, because that's what I'm seeing/reacting to.

We all know that physics isn't "complete" so it is entirely possible that we will one day find a "more complete" theory which also works in situations where existing physics (including SR) isn't applicable or-assuming we one day find an "error"- is able to predict results with higher accuracy.

What about certain pieces of physics? Is the speed of light really invariant or is there room for it to vary? Do scientists think that's realistic? Would they have declared it to be the basis for defining units of length if they believed fluctuation was likely?

The key here is realising that these situations would have to be either very exotic OR you are trying to calculate something with a precision which is beyond what we can currently measure. So any new theory would still need to explain existing data.

Yes, and this is where I perceive the OP goes wrong. It's not the general idea that there could be a new theory that contradicts SR in certain predictions, is better and replaces SR, but rather the likelihood that a person who is almost certainly a layperson could have discovered it.

 

[Dale]

my objection is that you added the restriction in the first place. It creates a circular argument: they are mathematically identical in special cases we can specify where they are mathematically equivalent.

The point is that there does exist such a special case where SR becomes equivalent to Newtonian physics. Not all possible theories have a Newtonian limit at all. Those that do not are invalidated by all of the evidence that validates Newtonian physics. The existence of that limit was critical for establishing relativity as a viable theory.

Whether 100 km/hr satisfies "<< c" and we can safely ignore the difference isn't what matters to me. It matters that they are in, in fact, different.

What matters for the scientific method is whether or not a specific experiment can distinguish between them. That involves not only the predicted difference but also the experimental precision.

 

[HAYAO]

I don't know if I can phrase this right, but no one measures the size of a table with micrometer precision. I hope everyone use a measure for that. Measures are not precise to a micrometer level, but it doesn't mean it's "wrong". It's just a good estimation because that's the realm of what we are concerned about. If a micrometer and a measure are contradictive (i.e. measuring a 1 mm object with micrometer and a measure show completely different measurement), then they are either manufactured poorly or used in a wrong way. In principle, they can't contradict each other.

Similarly, Newton is not "wrong", Einstein's SR or GR is not "wrong", QM is not "wrong", QFT is not "wrong". It is in principle not impossible to come to a similar conclusion of Newton mechanics with QM, but mathematically a very challenging thing to do (and we can't...yet). What we do instead is we incorporate approximation(s) that we perceive to work for a specific case in concern. We continue on and with sufficient approximations, we can reach the same conclusions of Newton mechanics.

Relativity explains the world very well and is very consistent. Let's say whatever you came up with is similarly very consistent with experiments. That means your theory and Relativity are compatible in some way. But it can't fundamentally contradict.

 

[Rive]

Is this wording really much different from the OP?
"... supported by most experiments..." (this is most concerning to me based on how weak it is worded).
"...contradicts..."

Yes, that wording is very different. The quoted text starts with the approval of the domain of validity of the standard model, and expressing their wish to extend it to new areas. They do not want to contradict: they wish to extend.

The concerning part from the OP is, that the root of SR is nothing more than the basic coordinate transformation valid for Maxwell. If you actually contradicts it, that means you are contradicting the existence of your computer, and that's just the very beginning. Not really a promising start.

It is still possible (? maybe just acceptable) to find special circumstances where rules are different and what's not actually part of the valid domain of (classic) electromagnetic. But then you still need to not contradict it in normal circumstances - and this makes that theory not a replacement, but an extension at this point. Just like in that quote.

One other point where the OP goes wrong is, that by now SR is barely considered a 'theory' on its own. It is kind of a transitive tool for education/basic usage between classical and GR physics. Just a slice of the big cake to make digestion smoother. Since it is kind of a 'first shock' for most people it is easy to understand why it is a common target, but that does not makes it a good target. If you shoot for it you shoot for a toy: if you shoot for real, that makes you ... erm... well...

 

[georgechen]

Thank you everyone replied to my post. Appreciate your feedbacks. This post was moved by the admin so I mistaken it from being deleted and only see it today.

For update, I already spent several months checking the math and can't find any error since it is simple math. So I will move forward and send the paper just hope someone may be so open-minded that he will at least take a look and not throwing it away immediately.

 

[PeroK]

Thank you everyone replied to my post. Appreciate your feedbacks. This post was moved by the admin so I mistaken it from being deleted and only see it today.

For update, I already spent several months checking the math and can't find any error since it is simple math. So I will move forward and send the paper just hope someone may be so open-minded that he will at least take a look and not throwing it away immediately.

What experimental tests do you have that your theory is valid?

 

[georgechen]

What experimental tests do you have that your theory is valid?

My theory is in harmony with all existing experiments as I knew and provides mathematical explanation of all following experiments. The contradiction is not on any experiment, it just had a different explanation compared to SR.
Sagnac effect; Stellar aberration; Observed Time dilation; Twin Paradox; Doppler effect; Barnett experiement Lorentz force law; Maxwell’s wave equations; Momentum to acceleration ratio; Mass-Energy relationship; Mass of moving particle; M-M experiment; one-way light speed; cosmological redshift; no red-shift for circular motion.

 

[PeroK]

My theory is in harmony with all existing experiments as I knew and provides mathematical explanation of all following experiments. The contradiction is not on any experiment, it just had a different explanation compared to SR.
Sagnac effect; Stellar aberration; Observed Time dilation; Twin Paradox; Doppler effect; Barnett experiement Lorentz force law; Maxwell’s wave equations; Momentum to acceleration ratio; Mass-Energy relationship; Mass of moving particle; M-M experiment; one-way light speed; cosmological redshift; no red-shift for circular motion.

I'll look out for you in Stockholm!

 

[georgechen]

I'll look out for you in Stockholm!

First, I need to look out for someone open minded enough to take a look.

 

[PeroK]

First, I need to look out for someone open minded enough to take a look.

Why not pay someone? Lots of physics grad students could use a bob of two (that's UK slang for a bit of extra cash). Get them to sign a legally-binding non-disclosure agreement beforehand.

 

[georgechen]

Again, any suggestion for potential reviewer or Journal is really appreciated. I just want a chance of review.

 

[georgechen]

Why not pay someone? Lots of physics grad students could use a bob of two (that's UK slang for a bit of extra cash). Get them to sign a legally-binding non-disclosure agreement beforehand.

I got my Ph.D. 20 years ago, published many papers and served as referee for years. You knew what I meant for "take a look". If you like kidding, so be it.

 

[PeroK]

Again, any suggestion for potential reviewer or Journal is really appreciated. I just want a chance of review.

No serious scientific journal is going to look at it. Predatory publishers will publish it whatever it says.

I would pay a graduate student to review it - after signing a non-disclosure agreement. I think you'd get an honest answer for your money.

 

[georgechen]

No serious scientific journal is going to look at it. Predatory publishers will publish it whatever it says.

I would pay a graduate student to review it - after signing a non-disclosure agreement. I think you'd get an honest answer for your money.

I am just curious how did Einstein, an undergraduate patent reviewer, publish his SR paper against Newton 100 years ago. People then appears to have more scientific spirit compared to today.

 

[russ_watters]

I am just curious how did Einstein, an undergraduate patent reviewer, publish his SR paper against Newton 100 years ago. People then appears to have more scientific spirit compared to today.

Einstein was not an undergrad when he published his seminal papers.

To be honest, now that you've shown your hand a bit in the Relativity forum, it is clear that your ideas are obviously wrong and the product of stubbornness. The error you were making is about something long predating Einstein and that anyone who has ever walked or talked on a plane or train understands intuitively. It was a really odd choice of a hill to die on.

This stuff is not hard to learn if you chose to, and if you want to skip learning it, you have no hope of being published in a reputable journal. Not because scientists are closed minded,, but because you are. And appealing to Einstein is a real red flag. You're definitely not the next Einstein.

 

[georgechen]

First, let me correct the undergraduate to bachelor degree.
Secondly, are you someone who we called judgmental? Did you know me? Did you see my paper? I asked a simple question, why is there not any experiment for moving observers. And you can't provide a straightforward answer.

 

[berkeman]

Thread closed temporarily for Moderation...

 

[Nugatory]

I am just curious how did Einstein, an undergraduate patent reviewer, publish his SR paper against Newton 100 years ago. People then appears to have more scientific spirit compared to today.

Although Einstein was employed as a patent examiner at the time, he had completed an advanced physics program comparable to a modern PhD, was corresponding with many contemporary physicists, was qualified for and actively seeking a university position, and was completely up to speed on the then-open problems in physics. Thus he was already at the frontiers of knowledge, so knew enough to advance them. And of course his SR paper was not “against Newton”, it was a proposed solution to the great unsolved problem of 19th century physics, namely the troublesome fit between electrodynamics and Galilean relativity.

 

[PeterDonis]

how did Einstein, an undergraduate patent reviewer, publish his SR paper against Newton 100 years ago.

Because he was not just a "patent reviewer". He was pursuing a Ph.D. in physics (in fact, it had been awarded by the time the SR paper was published, as @Nugatory notes), and he was well known to the editors of Annalen der Physik, the journal that published his papers, because he had exchanged numerous letters with many prominent physicists of the day, discussing various issues, including the ones that led to his relativity paper. Note, btw, that he also published papers on the photoelectric effect and Brownian motion in the same year, 1905; he was also well known to the experimentalists who were investigating those phenomena, and indeed made use of their data in formulating the theoretical models expounded in those papers.

In short, Einstein was able to publish his papers because he had given plenty of prior evidence that he was thoroughly knowledgeable in the subjects of those papers. You have not shown us any such evidence; in fact, you have shown us evidence to the contrary, by persisting in asking questions like this:

why is there not any experiment for moving observers

As I remarked in your other thread on this topic, this is like knowing that $2 + 3 = 5$ but then asking why no one has checked to see if $3 + 2 = 5$.

As with that other thread, it does not seem like there is any further progress to be made in this discussion. Your question has been answered; you might not like the answer, but it is the answer, and it is not going to change.

Thread will remain closed.