Essay Abstract

It has been argued that the existence of a minimum observable interval of space and time (MOIST) is a model-independent result of the combination of quantum field theory and general relativity. In this essay, I promote this result to a fundamental postulate, called the MOIST postulate. It is argued that the postulate leads to the existence of a maximum signal speed and its invariance. This new result may have two interesting implications. On the one hand, it suggests that the MOIST postulate can explain the invariance of the speed of light, and thus it might provide a deeper logical foundation for special relativity. Moreover, it suggests that the speed constant c in modern physics is not the actual speed of light in vacuum, but the ratio of the minimum observable length to the minimum observable time interval. On the other hand, the result also suggests that the existing experiments confirming the invariance of the speed of light already provide observational evidence to support the MOIST postulate.

Author Bio

Shan Gao is a PhD student at the University of Sydney under the supervision of Dean Rickles and Huw Price. He obtained the Postgraduate Scholarship in Quantum Foundations in 2009 and Lucy Firth Scholarship in Philosophy in 2010. He is the author of Quantum Motion: Unveiling the Mysterious Quantum World and God Does Play Dice with the Universe.

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Hello,

This is interesting but how do you avoid a petitio principii, in the sense that if MOIST is a postulate that leads to the existence of a maximum signal speed and its invariance how can the deduction be used validate the postulate?

The paradox of material implication tells us that the following implication

p => invariance of the speed of light

is true, regardless of whether p is true or false. Actually, p can be anything, like the proposition:

(2 > 4) => invariance of the speed of light

I would be very interesting in your approach to this problem. I found your essay interesting.

Thanks and regards,

E. Harokopos

4 days later

Hello!

The invariance of c--both its independence of the source and observer--derives from dx4/dt=ic.

This is proven here:

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/873

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/511

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/238

All the best,

Dr. E

7 days later
  • [deleted]

Dear Shan Gao,

I can show this essay is meaningless and erroneous. The idea of essay is very simple: First Shan Goa saw the formula c=Lp/Tp in the textbook, that means that the speed c have to do something with Planck distance Lp and Planck time Tp, and all his article is a game around this formula. Let us look how Shan Gao proves the invariance of speed of light: Since c is the maximum signal speed in every inertial frame, the speed of the signal in S' can only be equal to c. It is first senseless proposition. Then he wrote: This result also means that when the signal moves in the x direction with speed c in the inertial frame S, its speed will be also c in the inertial frame S with a velocity in the x direction relative to S'. Since the inertial frames S and S' are arbitrary, we can reach the conclusion that if a signal moves with the speed c in an inertial frame, it will also move with the same speed c in all other inertial frames. This proves the invariance of speed c. In other words, Shan Gao wrote that since the signal moves at c in all frames, it proves the invariance of speed c. In fact, it proves nothing and is senseless.

Further, Shan Gao wrote: ''To sum up, I have argued that the MOIST postulate leads to the existence of a maximum signal speed''. In other words, Shan Gao wrote that, since c is the maximum signal speed in every inertial frame, and c is connected to Planck distance, the MOIST postulate leads to the existence of a maximum signal speed". It is a senseless proposition that proves nothing.

I can demonstrate that all Shan Gao's papers are senseless and contain zero useful information - it is a collection of empty papers only.

Imagine, he published about 9 identical papers which contains the same idea about that the motion of particles is not classical, but discontinuous. It is not a new idea, all physics textbooks tell us that quantum particles have neither trajectories nor classical motion, and therefore their wavefunctions also do not describe classical motion. However, all his 9 papers contains this idea only.

Let us analyze his paper Everyone can understand quantum mechanics He wrote some words about Bohr, Einstein, Bohm, Everett, then about that motion is not continuous but discontinuous. And it is all the paper! Thus, paper contain zero new useful information.

Let us analyze another Gao's paper What quantum mechanics describes is discontinuous motion This paper describes the same idea: the motion of particles is not continuous, but discontinuous. Hence, this paper contains zero useful information.

God Does Play Dice With the Universe This paper discribes the same idea:the motion of particles is not continuous, but discontinuous.

Since the particle's motion is not classical, it is clear that his wavefunction also do not describe classical motion. However, Shan Gao published 4 papers about it, with zero new information. I stop here because I do not have time, but you can check the rest of Shan Gao's papers and see that all his papers repeats the same information; the most of his papers contain zero new usefull information and are senseless.

Yours,

Abramovich

    M. Abramovich,

    I can see that you do not mince words with your criticism. When I post comments to other entrants I make a conscientious effort to include at least some criticism (although much more gently) in the spirit that we can only learn from each other and improve our ideas in science if we provide constructive feedback, not by congratulating each other on how excellent our essays are.

    I expect to be treated no differently and it is in this spirit that I'd like to invite you to read my entry to the first fqxi essay contest which tackled this very question about the speed of light invariance. The original essay can be found at http://www.fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/329 but an updated version which contains some minor corrections can be found here:

    http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/83152

    The proposed solution to this problem contains a highly unfamiliar idea which does not ostensibly fit our current paradigms. But the same idea is shown in my entry into the current contest to be at the heart of one of the main features of quantum mechanics, the quantum phase:

    http://www.fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/954

    Should you take up my invitation, I look forward to your criticism.

    Armin

    Dear Shan,

    If we start only from the assumption that lP and tP are minimal (MOIST), with no additional structure or conditions, then there is a symmetry between lP and tP. In the 2-dimensional case the theory is invariant to the transform x ct (and g -g, where g is the Lorentz metric). Then, there is no reason to assume that lP/tP is a maximum, because the symmetry would say that tP/lP is maximum too. That is, we would have both that c is a maximum speed, and that is a minimum speed. This is why I think that from MOIST only we don't obtain "the existence of a maximum signal speed".

    Best regards,

    Cristi

    19 days later
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