What is the quantum medium view?
           It is the logical consequences of the following premise.

Our universe includes a medium through which quanta of energy (e.g. photons) move at a constant absolute speed (ca) when not slowed by systems of mass/energy in the medium (e.g. when far from any massive systems).

For nonphysicists: Photons are quanta of electromagnetic energy. They comprise light and invisible radiation such as X-rays and radio waves. They transfer energy over huge distances as well as between and within atoms. Without photons we could not detect the world around us and there would be no electromagnetic force to keep our bodies from falling apart.

Why should the logical consequences of this premise be understood?
           Because they explain a wide range of important phenomena for which there have not been plausible scientific explanations (e.g. the mass of our body, its "inertia" when we run into a fixed object, and its "weight" due to Earth's mass) and they provide a basis for significant advancements in understanding fundamental aspects of nature.
           The consequences show that direct experimental observations can be very misleading. The history of science contains many examples of misleading observations (e.g. observations of heavenly bodies circling Earth that led to the Earth-centered picture of nature). A serious misunderstanding of nature is probably now occurring in modern science because theory is based on experimental evidence indicating that the speed of light relative to bodies in constant-velocity motion in remote empty space is always the same, regardless of the bodies' motions toward or away from the light sources. The assumed constant speed of light (c) relative to all the bodies is now a cornerstone of orthodox physics theory, in spite of the fact that orthodox theory cannot explain how this constant relative velocity is possible. The quantum medium view shows that c is the result of logical consequences of the above premise.

What are these logical consequences of the premise?
Some are obvious:
 The speed of light is not constant relative to bodies moving through the medium. If a light-emitting body has an absolute velocity (va) through the medium, the speed of the light relative to the body varies from (1-va) ca in the direction of va to (1+va) ca in the opposite direction. As va approaches ca, the speed of light relative to the body approaches zero in the direction of va.
Some are less obvious:
 As a body's absolute velocity va through the medium gradually increases, the round-trip energy exchange rate within the body gradually decreases and it decreases faster along lines parallel to va than in directions transverse to va, unless the atomic structure of the body contracts along lines parallel to va to balance the energy exchange rate in all directions.
 As va increases and the rate of round-trip energy exchange within the body decreases, all processes (e.g. atomic, biological, mechanical) are slowed proportionally.
Some of the following significant consequences of the medium have not been recognized:
 A change in the absolute velocity va of any physical system through the medium changes the standards of time, distance, and mass in the system. As va increases, the length of a standard 1 meter rod decreases (depending on its orientation in space), the 1 second duration of a standard clock increases, and the mass of a standard 1 kilogram increases. Observers in the system who use these units of distance, time, and mass will observe virtual phenomena, not the underlying absolute phenomena.
 Observers who do not realize that the standards of time and distance in their system depend on va will observe that the speed of light in their system is isotropic and always the same. [Note: This mysterious constant speed of light in all inertial frames cannot be explained by orthodox physics theory. It is the assumption underlying relativity theory that results in the theory's strange consequences.]
 As a body's absolute velocity va is increased, the mass/energy of the body increases due to an increase in the quantity and the energy of blueshifted quanta of energy within the body.
 A body will resist having its velocity changed (i.e. it will have "inertia") because a velocity change requires a shift in the balance of a large internal energy in the body, and this requires a force and work.
 A virtual symmetry will exist between systems moving relative to one another. It will be observed in each system that the standard clocks in the other system run slow, that the standard meter rods are shorter when oriented in the direction of relative motion, and that the standard masses are more massive, regardless of the absolute velocities of the systems.
           The quantum medium view and its equations specify in detail these and other consequences of the medium. The predictions of the quantum medium view are in exact agreement with special relativity theory, which has been shown to be in agreement with all related experimental evidence. The quantum medium view explains how relativity theory can make accurate predictions and at the same time be based on the false assumption that the speed of light is the same and isotropic through all inertial frames. It shows that behind now-obvious observed phenomena such as the observed constant speed of light, c, and "relativistic phenomena" is a medium that has been very difficult to detect but that is becoming increasingly apparent via the cosmic microwave background dipole, the anisotropy of radiation emitted by radioactive materials, and a variety of other evidence.

Isn't the concept of a light-propagating quantum medium old?
           Yes. The quantum medium is essentially the same as the ether assumed by Hooke, Huygens, Young, Maxwell, Lorentz, Michelson, and many others. Others, particularly Hendrik Lorentz, proposed theories that were similar in various ways to the quantum medium view. Both Fitzgerald and Lorentz suggested that bodies moving through the ether are contracted. Unfortunately, around 1900 when physicists were searching for ways to explain the apparent constant speed of light and other perplexing experimental results, the structure of the atom was not known and there was less opportunity to realize why the rates of clocks, and the lengths and masses of bodies depend on their velocity through the medium.
          When relativity theory arrived in 1905 and showed that a variety of observed phenomena were consequences of assuming the speed of light is constant in all inertial frames, it reinforced the perception that this constant speed of light is simply a strange fact of nature. Lacking a viable alternative to relativity theory, and as relativity theory was found to be consistent with more and more evidence, it became accepted in spite of the fact that it does not reveal the physical causes for the constant speed of light or for the "relativistic" phenomena it predicts. For example, what causes the observed slowing of a clock when the observer's velocity relative to the clock is increased? Relativity theory predicts the observed slowing but does not explain the physical causes for this strange phenomenon.

What is different about the quantum medium view?
          The quantum medium view explains physical causes for the phenomena that relativity theory predicts and for significant other phenomena. It explains why any system moving through the medium is contracted and why its rate of evolution is slowed and why it is more massive relative to when the system is at rest in the medium. It shows why relativity theory works. It shows that relativity theory can be consistent with all available experimental evidence and still be based on a false assumption and be very misleading -- much as Ptolemy's Earth-centered theory was consistent with observations and seemed to be a good model of the universe for over 1000 years. It shows the importance of a theory's ability to explain the physical causes for phenomena in addition to providing a mathematical model that is consistent with the phenomena.
           The quantum medium permits a simple explanation for gravity if it is assumed that a mass M such as Earth alters the speed of quanta of energy moving in its vicinity according to the following simple equation in which cag is the speed of a photon relative to its speed in the absence of M, L is the photon's distance from the center of mass M, and G is the Newtonian gravitational constant.       It is unnecessary to invoke a separate gravitational force in nature. The quantum medium makes this major simplification in the description of nature possible.

Is the quantum medium view consistent with the experimental evidence?
           Yes. It is supported by the same empirical evidence that supports relativity theory.

          The quantum medium view, like a picture puzzle, is comprised of many pieces. Only by understanding much of this view can it be seen that the pieces fit together into a consistent and logical picture that is very likely an accurate representation of nature. In contrast to relativity theory where observers moving relative to one another cannot agree on the times, distances, and masses they observe, the quantum medium view results in complete agreement among observers. Relativity theory leads to the conclusion that bodies and clocks do not have any particular dimensions and rates at which they keep time, and that the only way for observers moving relative to one another to agree on nature is to combine distance and time into space-time. The quantum medium view shows that this major reconfiguration of nature is unnecessary.

If the quantum medium view is a good representation of nature, why isn't this generally known?
          Because it is not generally understood why the medium explains simply and logically a wide variety of very important phenomena and why the medium has been difficult to detect in spite of the physical effects it has on our measuring instruments and other physical systems. Most physicists know that the ether was once a popular idea, and they believe that a light-propagating medium in the universe is unnecessary. They accept that relativity theory has been proven because it is consistent with experimental evidence. In fact, physics textbooks currently teach that the Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887 showed that light is not propagated through a medium and that the speed of light is the same in all directions. They are wrong about this. They teach that Newtonian mechanics is only applicable in cases where bodies are moving at speeds that are low relative to the speed of light. The quantum medium view shows that this apparent limitation of Newtonian mechanics can be easily removed.
          During the past century generations of students learned relativity theory and taught it to others. They learned why relativity theory is correct and that it is foolish to question it. For those certain that relativity theory is correct, a return to a light-propagating medium must seem like a step backward. On the other hand, those confident that all observed phenomena have physical causes -- a hypothesis supported time and again by historical evidence -- will find that the quantum medium view is consistent with this hypothesis and explains a wide variety of important phenomena for which orthodox theory has no explanation or provides no physical causes.

          This web site aims to meet accepted standards of good science. Care has been taken to minimize incorrect statements and faulty reasoning and to avoid suggesting a view that is inconsistent with experimental evidence, or internally inconsistent, or otherwise in error. To date, no such errors have been brought to our attention although candid feedback is encouraged and appreciated.