The Fundamental Nature of Time by Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear Alan,

Thanks for reading and commenting. I began the year believing SR was simple (the Lorentz transformation, what else?) and that GR was complex. A year of discussion with other physicists has convinced me otherwise. Competent physicists understand so many aspects of special relativity that when they come across one statement that seems to contradict other aspects, they dismiss the statement and stop considering the issue. The point of the essay is that Einstein space-time symmetry is a faulty interpretation of the Lorentz transformation which can correctly be reinterpreted in terms of energy-time conjugation. The Lorentz transformation (which I believe is what you are defending) does apply to relativistic particle physics, to the muon, and to GPS, but it is an energy-time effect, not a space-time effect.

A key aspect of this is derivation of the Lorentz transformation. Einstein, and all relativity textbooks assume two time dimensions (inertial frames) to derive LT. In An Energy-Based Derivation of Lorentz Transformation in One Inertial Frame I derive the LT in one inertial frame. I hope you will read this. As you are one of the better physicists who frequent FQXi, I hope you will take the problem seriously.

You say the problem is "GPS will not work without relativity, including corrections due to both general and special relativity." On page 8 I note that muons, GPS, atomic clocks, and Pound-Rebka are all compatible with an energy-time re-interpretation of space-time physics. Your statement actually means that the Lorentz transformation is necessary for twentieth century physics, but many will read it to mean that the "space-time symmetry" interpretation is necessary. It is not. I hope you will reread at least pages 8 and 9, which focus on the nature of clocks. Clocks measure the energy of oscillating systems, which only indirectly translates into time. Einstein's gedanken experiments are based on "perfect clocks" at every point in every inertial frame, ignoring the energy dependence of clocks. That is a fallacious concept. I have one detailed analysis posted [link above] and four more in process to show this in extreme detail.

Of course, questioning relativity is almost a cottage industry, and most physicists categorize every such attempt as futile, but I hope you will attempt to understand my essay rather than dismiss it because you believe it rejects relativistic math -- it does not. It keeps the math while reinterpreting the erroneous physics concept of multiple time dimensions. It is subtle, but it retains the Lorentz transform while rejecting the source of paradox and confusion, Einstein's space-time symmetry concept based on multiple time dimensions.

Having spent a year discussing this with quite competent physicists, I know that the tendency is to focus on any particular statement, and tell oneself "that is incompatible with other things I know" and mentally stop at that point. That's when the complexity of SR raises its ugly head. Please believe me that every physicist who has explored this across all SR aspects now agrees with me. I hope you will reread my essay with an open mind, reserving judgment until you have considered all points.

In fact, your second paragraph is almost word for word compatible with my interpretation of clocks and with page 6 in my essay. You say

"Space and time are separate, and are defined by frequency and wavelength of these real waves, which can shift in a gravitational potential"

Alan, they shift because of the GR energy difference, and also shift because of the mv**2 SR energy difference. This is the key to understanding my essay.

In short, you are assuming that I reject the special relativistic math. That is not true. I retain the Lorentz math of the SR while I re-interpret the physics of space-time symmetry in favor of the physics of energy-time conjugation.

I will of course comment on your essay on your page.

My very best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear Gene Barbee,

Thanks for your kind thoughts. You understand me to say that "time is counted in cycles and is everywhere the same." You are correct and have boiled the argument down to the essentials. All clocks count cycles (examples in essay). The cycle is inverse frequency and, since Einstein, we know that energy is related to frequency and frequency to inverse time. Hence

cycles ~ inverse frequency ~ inverse (inverse time) ~ time.

So clocks measure energy which is indirectly related to time. That is, clocks do not directly measure time. Einstein's 'perfect clocks' were assumed to measure time perfectly, and his (faulty) concept of multiple time frames and (faulty) concepts of perfect clocks were logically extended into areas (such as railway cars) where experiments to prove or disprove his logic were impossible, hence "gedanken" experiments, deriving results based on the valid logic of faulty principles. This is why Einstein states in his 1905 paper that his theory is derived "with the help of certain imaginary experiments."

Thanks again for reading and commenting so astutely.

Best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Having now read your essay, I posted the following on your page:

Dear Eckard Blumshein,

A tour de force! Congratulations on an incredibly information-dense essay.

I appreciate your beginning with Fourier transforms, without which quantum mechanics surely would not exist. You have for several essays focused on cosine transforms providing insight based on your audio work. Your issues concerning t = 0 are subtle. I do agree that physicists tend to stay away from the foundations of mathematics, some actually considering mathematical structure more fundamental than physics.

You note a truly fundamental assumption besides causality: "There is only one reality." My essay treats the fundamental nature of time essential to reality, which is universal simultaneity.

You observe that rigorous formalizations are notorious for causing paradoxes. I observe that all special relativity (SR) texts base the derivation of the Lorentz transformation on two inertial frames, seeming to impute that the very existence of the Lorentz transformation implies the existence of two (or more) time dimensions, per Einstein. In An Energy-Based Derivation of Lorentz Transformation in One Inertial Frame I prove that two inertial frames are not required for the existence of the LT. I believe this is both mathematically and physically significant. In the first place it gets rid of the paradoxes associated with Einstein's 'space-time symmetry'-based "gedanken" experiments [based on railway examples not subject to measurement] while retaining the relativistic [energy] particle physics so well-supported by twentieth century physics.

In a yet-to-be-published a paper I examine Einstein's faulty 'simultaneity detector' based on which he declares "the relativity of simultaneity". Deriving the Lorentz transform in one real world (one inertial frame) argues against multiple time dimensions (and all of the non-intuitive nonsense that depends from this) and leads to the classical understanding of time as universal simultaneity. His denial of this caused Einstein to admit "the now worries him seriously." Universal simultaneity is, of course, now.

CS Peirce, as you note, insisted that "axioms are not a priori truths, but synthetic statements." Einstein's two axioms are contradicted by a one-frame derivation of the Lorentz transformation and by local gravity as ether. Again you state (p5) that "unjustified rigor is to blame for [much] nonsense." Einstein's rigorous derivation of LT in two inertial frames is the basis of much nonsense that vanishes when LT is derived in one inertial frame.

I also like your treatment of symmetry. You say "in reality, symmetries tend to be rarely perfect." Amen. The SU(3) basis of the Standard Model is valid only if masses are equal. In reality the relevant masses differ by two orders of magnitude! Approximate symmetry is all that one finds in the real world.

I also like:

"Should we try and alternatively deal with some fundamentals of physics from the perspective of elapsed time-span...". I would apply this to the elapsed time of the cycle of vibration characterizing the energy of the 'clock' mechanism, and the realization that clocks actually measure energy, and only indirectly are measure 'time'. This demolishes Einstein's clock-based derivation of SR, while fully retaining the energy-time basis of relativistic particle physics. Most particle physics occurs in collisions, which obviously occur at one point in time, not in two time dimensions, as per the theology of SR.

You then note that

"Time t and circular frequency w constitute a pair of conjugate quantities."

That is, time and energy! And note that circular frequency is the basis of all clocks!

In conclusion, you say

"Let's likewise check the historic line of reasoning behind what led to Einstein's special theory of relativity for possibly not justified analogies and generalizations."

That, of course, is exactly what my essay does. I believe our conclusions are almost identical.

Congratulations on a truly magnificent essay.

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear John-Erik Persson,

I posted the following on your page:

I enjoyed your essay and agree that theoretical physics today depends on more than 100-year-old assumptions and interpretations of experiments, some of which are in error. Like you, I feel that perhaps the easiest way to advance physics is to reveal old fundamental errors.

You discuss too many physical phenomena for me to critique, so I will focus on those aspects on which I believe we agree. For example, you state that

"Instead of by time dilation, observed effects must be explained by clock behavior."

Any analysis of atomic clocks must be based on clocks counting cycles, which are inversely related to time, while (per Einstein) frequency is directly related to energy. Thus clocks measure energy directly and time only indirectly. Einstein's idea of 'perfect clocks', located at every point in the moving frame and perfectly synchronized, is an erroneous idea. Formulated long before the development of atomic clocks (the only ones that show relativistic effects) Einstein might be forgiven his mistake, but why hold onto it?

You note that the "Lorentz transform is based on the absurd assumption that light moves with the same speed in relation to all observers moving with constant, but different speeds." Of course Rindler, whose name is associated with several aspects of special relativity, agrees with this, and I discuss this in detail in my essay.

Like you, I feel that Faraday's pedestal could be raised much higher.

You also note that experiments that detect the ether wind based on rotation of the planet surely cannot be interpreted to "assume our own planet to entrain the ether in the whole universe." I propose that light propagates in local gravity, and that this is compatible both with MM's null result and with the motion of clocks circling earth in opposite directions. I suspect that when you say that

"Such an ether wind can explain gravity as well",

you are in agreement with the fact that

"Local gravity can explain ether"

as detailed in my essay.

You note the absurdity of the twins paradox, which is a logical consequence of 'space-time symmetry' that vanishes in an 'energy-time conjugate' formalism (while retaining relativistic particle physics quite well) and note (as I do) that an older, wiser Einstein said "physics without ether is unthinkable."

You develop the idea of "falling ether", then state that "this falling ether describes gravity". I would respectfully suggest that the concept of "gravity as local ether" satisfies the goals you have in mind, but perhaps I need to study your essay more closely.

In any event, we are almost identical in our analysis of the problem, and I think in general agreement in our solutions.

I hope you enjoy my essay as much as I have enjoyed yours.

My very best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear Jack James, [ I have left this comment on your page.]

You argue that rationalism (pure reasoning without experiential input) must have a vital role when it comes to revealing fundamentals. It is hard to find 'pure' cases (without experiential input) but I examine a case wherein a null result led to a theory based on pure reasoning, with the result that unreasonable assumptions (multiple time dimensions) took hold and have endured for a century.

Your point C discusses "our rational theories matching our evolved cognitive perceptions of reality". In the case of special relativity, our evolved cognitive perception of reality was that of universal time as universal simultaneity. Einstein's assumptions, upon which he rationally based his theory, led to conclusions that contradicted our evolved cognitive perception of reality. It's a real ball of wax.

Interestingly, an alternative rationale leads to the same mathematical result (the Lorentz transformation) by an entirely different path while yielding a theory that does match our evolved cognitive perceptions of reality. The difference is based on careful analysis of "perfect clocks".

The empirical confirmation offered by relativistic particle physics confirms the applicability of the Lorentz transformation without contradicting either the space-time symmetry of SR or the energy-time asymmetry of the 'real world' (one time dimension)-based theory.

I'm uncertain what the relevance of this is to your analytical approach, but it seems to provide a 'test case' for you to apply your approach to.

Thanks for reading my essay and commenting. My sense is that your approach is a reasonable take on a difficult problem.

Best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear Marcel-Marie Lebel,

It's great to see you back in the contest. I've always felt that your 2009 essay "Physics stops were natural metaphysics starts" is one of the best of the hundreds of FQXi essays over the last decade. Your definition of truth as absence of choice, and use of this definition to develop logic is simply superb. Then, as now, you argue that one 'substance' exists by itself; the same point is made in my 2009 essay. This is where we diverge. You believe this 'substance' is time; I believe the substance is gravity. We both are faced with the problem of evolving our universe as we know it from this basic substance. That has, in one way or another, been the focus of many of my essays.

My current essay addresses the non-intuitive concept of "the relativity of simultaneity". If the universe is happening now, I believe that 'now' must mean universal simultaneity. Having spent much of this year reviewing the history of special relativity (and Einstein's later 'second thoughts') I conclude that an energy-time interpretation of (clock-based) reality is preferred to the 'space-time symmetry' interpretation, and is compatible with relativistic particle physics of the twentieth century.

Einstein claims "there is no space absent of field" which seems to place 'field' as the fundamental substance, leaving 'space' as an abstract category of 'empty container'. Of course Einstein mixes time and space as a 4D-entity while Hertz and others imply 3D-space plus 1D-time.

You quote Unruh as presenting 'time' as something that does exist by itself. He notes "gravity does not cause time to run differently in different places...". This, and his following remarks are based on space-time symmetry. In my view it is the idea of time as measured by 'perfect clocks' that is in error. Time flows equably, not faster some places, slower others. Local energy of moving systems does however vary from place to place, and since clocks count cycles and thus measure energy, then it is false to conclude, as is done, that

"We know that time does run slower closer to the ground."

This is the standard GR-based misinterpretation of the Pound-Rebka experiment. It leads to all the space-time symmetry paradoxes of SR. The universe 'happens' at the same rate everywhere, but local vibrations are energy dependent and vary from place to place. To compare the interplay of logic in gravity, versus your treatment of logic and time, is impossible in a comment. I do enjoy your thinking, and always love your essays.

My best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the heads up. I had read Declan's essay, but not yet responded to it.

Declan proposes an angle-dependent detection probability. If all hits are detected, then all hits count as +1 or -1 (in the QM theory). If certain hits are missed, this effectively lowers the 'average' reading to a number below +1 (or above -1). The +1 and -1 come from Bell's very first statement defining the problem, and reflects the consensus interpretation of the quantum mechanics of spin as a half integral "nonclassical" phenomenon. Despite Declan's contention that his model is essentially classical, he nevertheless accepts the QM interpretation of spin as a two state entity, which is generally true from spin statistics and magnetic fields, and never proved or experimentally demonstrated for single spins in magnetic-field-free space.

In my classical model of the 'hidden variable' it simply the 3D nature of spin which yields an angle-dependent deflection that matches the Stern-Gerlach data which has the well-known 'lip' pattern. My model assumes 'perfect' detection since none of the atoms are lost; all reach the target. But the registered spin component is less than +1, dependent on the initial angle the spin makes with the magnetic field. This yields exactly the ab cos(theta) curve that Bell claims is impossible to achieve classically. It's only impossible when one forces all projections of atoms through the Stern-Gerlach apparatus to be maximum or minimum. Of course, the data shows that the atoms are deflected over a range of angles, but why be picky about experimental data that doesn't match a theory? Better to assume experimental error or some type of 'noise'.

FYI, there is another SG-relevant paper, the essay by Anton Garrett which I find very interesting. Finally, I would call attention to a key problem in Bell tests. Bell's initial analysis (and the Stern-Gerlach experiment) are based on neutral atoms, while all Bell tests are based on photon detection, which, as Declan points out, are not perfect.

Best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

A slightly more fleshed-our comment on Declan Andrew Traill's page:

I am in full agreement with you that entanglement, "a nonlocal process inaccessible to the classical world", is a most serious problem facing those who wish a comprehensible universe. Like you, I find it possible to produce a classical model that violates Bell's theorem. In the following I will try to compare our two results, both of which lead to the 'impossible' result.

You propose an angle-dependent detection probability. If all hits are detected, then all hits count as +1 or -1 (in the QM theory). If certain hits are missed, this effectively lowers the 'average' reading (for that angle) to a number below +1 (or above -1). This lowering of the average value is effected by the cos(a.b) term.

The +1 and -1 come from Bell's very first statement defining the problem, and reflects the consensus interpretation of the quantum mechanics of spin as a half integral "nonclassical" phenomenon. Your essentially classical model seems to accept the QM interpretation of spin as a two-state entity, which is generally true from spin statistics and magnetic fields, but has never been proved or experimentally demonstrated for single spins in magnetic-field-free space.

In my classical model the 'hidden variable' is simply the 3D nature of spin which yields an angle-dependent deflection that matches the Stern-Gerlach data which has the well-known 'lip' pattern. My Stern-Gerlach-based model assumes 'perfect' detection since none of the atoms are lost; all atoms reach the target. But the registered spin component is less than +1, dependent on the initial angle the spin makes with the magnetic field. This yields exactly the cos(a.b) curve that Bell claims is impossible to achieve classically. It's only impossible when one forces all projections of atoms through the Stern-Gerlach apparatus to be maximum or minimum. Of course, the data shows that the atoms are deflected over a range of angles, but why be picky about experimental data that doesn't match a theory? Better to assume experimental error or some type of 'noise'.

Finally, a key problem in Bell tests derives from the fact that Bell's initial analysis (and the Stern-Gerlach experiment) are based on neutral atoms, while all Bell tests are based on photon detection, which, as you point out, are not perfect. I have some ideas about how to translate from atomic phenomena (SG) to photonic phenomena (Bell tests) but your approach is physically reasonable, and may actually be correct for photons. Thanks for a very interesting essay.

Best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Dear John Merryman,

Thanks for your comments. The presentist view of time, as I understand it, is that things are happening now. The future is an abstraction, with no physical reality. So to speak of the reality of change turning "future" into past, seems to perceive an abstraction as real. I do not view the "past" as real [i.e., as actually existing] but it is at least reflected in 'records' or 'echoes' that do exist now.

Einstein dismissed simultaneity by inventing new time dimensions, which he 'attached' to moving objects, along with new coordinate systems. It is this invention of new time dimensions that demolishes time as universal simultaneity. His reason for doing this was never explained. I conjecture about this in my essay.

You say 'events are first in the present, then in the past." This is mathematically 'reasonable' but I think presentism views 'events' as happening only now. Physical reality is the existing 'record' of earlier events, but those events are not "in the past". The idea of direction of an abstraction flowing into abstraction, is an abstraction, and thus a matter of choice.

Having suffered over a century of "the relativity of simultaneity", it is difficult for physicists today to perceive time in the classical manner, while it is ridiculously easy to 'represent' time as one of four dimensions. The fact that the Minkowski formalism accurately maps relativistic particle physics in an energy-time perspective yet leads to nonsense in the space-time symmetry perspective seems to argue for the energy-time conjugation as the physically most appropriate model. But this is, of course, swimming against the current.

You say energy "exists in the present" and is "constantly creating new information". I agree that information is created when energy changes local structure, thus creating a 'record' that is 'in-formation'. This occurs independently of whether one considers it flowing from one abstraction to another abstraction. I think Omar Khayyam captured the essence of presentism:

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on; nor all thy Piety nor wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,

Nor all thy tears wash out a Word of it."

Best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Having written previous essays on Bell's theorem and Stern-Gerlach, I am pleased to see both Anton Garrett's essay and Declan Andrew Traill's essay in this contest. I wrote the following comment on Anton's page:

Literally thousands of comments have been spent on FQXi concerning Bell's theorem, which, as you state, "is about logic, not quantum mechanics". Bell's first statement defining the problem is his equation (1) in which he defines measurements A and B to have +/- unit values. The logical outcome is completely determined from this point!

Bell essentially asks for a "classical" explanation [the 'hidden variable'] while insisting on a "quantum" result. Stern-Gerlach did not find "quantum" results. Their deflection data is smeared over an upper "lip" and a lower "lip" which are arbitrarily called +1 and -1 to fit the naïve quantum picture of spin. But which picture? Pauli's, Dirac's, Feynman's? As you obviously spent time and effort on this topic I hope you might look at Spin: Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, Dirac, Bell.

Pauli conveniently chose half integral eigenvalues, which Bell uses unquestioningly, while Dirac, who many think more fundamental, derived a four component equation that is no longer an eigenvalue equation. Indeed, it is only "converted into" an eigenvalue equation by the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation which smears the particle with spin over a region of space. Only after this integration do we arrive at a Dirac-based eigenvalue equation.

Perhaps if Bell had thought more deeply about spin he would've had more reservations than he did about this issue. Unfortunately, about the same time Bell developed his theorem, Feynman, deeply in love with the two slit experiment, decided to apply the analogy to Stern-Gerlach-as-two-slit and [of course!] the two state "wave function" worked. [What a surprise -- Pauli invented a workable 'wave-function' when he used O|+> = +|+> and O|-> = -|->.] Thus deBroglie's linear momentum-based wave function, with wavelength proportional to inverse momentum, compatible with experimental tests, was conceptually extended to angular momentum, with no logical justification for associating a wavelength with electron spin. [Spin waves in condensed matter or solid-state physics are not spin wave functions.] But, like Einstein, it is today verboten to question Feynman, so we are stuck with "wave functions" for spin analogous to wave functions for particles with momentum. This leads to superposition concepts for particles going through non-homogeneous fields that are entirely inappropriate but unquestioned, although never demonstrated.

Nino says: "I presume physicists... are now looking for a theory that predicts what happens each time you put a particle through successive Stern-Gerlach apparatuses."

Neo answers: "Actually we are not."

Actually we are. Or were. Two other physicists and myself [one received the National Medal of Technology at the White House in 2014] began this experiment in 2015. We produced fine healthy silver atomic beams but finally decided that single atom detectors were far beyond our resources.

If the first SG detector is used to prepare atoms from the oven in a particular state, say + (up), and the second SG detector is offset at angle theta from the first, then the deflection of the particle from the second device will be a factor of theta.

Here's the kicker: according to my theory (which does violate Bell's theorem classically) only + particles will be detected from the second SG device. According to Feynman's two slit spin analogy, the wave function will predict some - states will be found.

If spin is actually 3D, then the deflection of SG can be shown to depend on the angle between the spin and the field. This is what is actually seen in the SG data. But as you imply, no one wants to test this. Even suggesting it is to be drummed out of the corps.

But if spin is actually 3D, then the measured deflection is not +1 or -1 but is ~cos(theta). This conflicts with Bell's definition A,B= +/-1. Using real theta-based measurement results (i.e., deflection) it is easy to show the correlation cos(a.b). Using Bell's +1 or -1 constraints it is logically (not physically) impossible.

In Modern Classical Spin Dynamics see figure 6 on page 20 wherein the classical model overlays SG data almost exactly, and in Bell was simply wrong see page 6 where the energy-exchange model is shown to yield cos(a.b) while the Bell-constrained version cannot accomplish this.

So, to repeat, if one accepts Bell's requirement that measurements be +1 or -1 , instead of actual deflection seen in the SG data, then one is logically bound to fail. If one allows actual deflection data the classical model obtains the quantum correlation cos(a.b) violating Bell's theorem and removing even the suggestion of "entanglement".

This is further complicated by loose thinking, such as Nino's statement "but nevertheless only one of the detectors actually goes off." If this is applied to Stern-Gerlach, it means only that every particle is deflected up or down based on initial state, but does not imply A,B= +/-1. On the other hand, Bell is not tested with SG atoms but with photons which are detected (+1) or not (0).

Due to Feynman's beloved two-slit-spin-analogy, people consider atomic spin wave functions and photon wave functions to be the same, thus on/off photon detection results are conflated with the SG deflection results. Confusion reigns.

Nino says "quantization is indeed a mental rather than a physical procedure." Bell forces classical physics into a quantized mold that is mental rather than physical. When this artificially constrained logical problem leads to the conclusion that classical physics cannot yield the measured correlation we invented "entanglement". This nonlocality that has ruled physics for fifty years is a farce, but one which cannot be challenged without forfeiting one's establishment position. The natives should be restless.

Congratulations on a very fine essay,

Edwin Eugene Klingman