dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaInertia as reaction of the vacuum to accelerated motion
| Authors | Alfonso Rueda, Bernhard Haisch |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9802031 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9802031 |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00153-4 |
| Journal | Phys.Lett. A240 (1998) 115-126 |
Abstract
It was proposed by Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (Phys. Rev. A, 49, 678, 1994) that the inertia of matter could be interpreted at least in part as a reaction force originating in interactions between the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) and the elementary charged consitutents (quarks and electrons) of matter. Within the limited context of that analysis, it appeared that Newton's equation of motion, f=ma, could be inferred from Maxwell's equations as applied to the ZPF, i.e. the stochastic electrodynamics (SED) version of the quantum vacuum. We report on a new approach which avoids the ad hoc particle-field interaction model (Planck oscillator) of that analysis, as well as its concomitant formulational complexity. Instead, it is shown that a non-zero ZPF momentum flux arises naturally in accelerating coordinate frames from the standard relativistic transformations of electromagnetic fields. Scattering of this ZPF momentum flux by an object will yield a reaction force that may be interpreted as a contribution to the object's inertia. This new formulation is properly covariant yielding the relativistic equation of motion. Our approach is related by the principle of equivalence to Sakharov's conjecture of a connection between Einstein action and the vacuum. If correct, this concept would substitute for Mach's principle and imply that no further mass-giving Higgs-type fields may be required to explain the inertia of material objects, although extensions to include the zero-point fields of the other fundamental interactions may be necessary for a complete theory of inertia.
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"abstract": "It was proposed by Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (Phys. Rev. A, 49, 678, 1994)\nthat the inertia of matter could be interpreted at least in part as a reaction\nforce originating in interactions between the electromagnetic zero-point field\n(ZPF) and the elementary charged consitutents (quarks and electrons) of matter.\nWithin the limited context of that analysis, it appeared that Newton\u0027s equation\nof motion, f=ma, could be inferred from Maxwell\u0027s equations as applied to the\nZPF, i.e. the stochastic electrodynamics (SED) version of the quantum vacuum.\nWe report on a new approach which avoids the ad hoc particle-field interaction\nmodel (Planck oscillator) of that analysis, as well as its concomitant\nformulational complexity. Instead, it is shown that a non-zero ZPF momentum\nflux arises naturally in accelerating coordinate frames from the standard\nrelativistic transformations of electromagnetic fields. Scattering of this ZPF\nmomentum flux by an object will yield a reaction force that may be interpreted\nas a contribution to the object\u0027s inertia. This new formulation is properly\ncovariant yielding the relativistic equation of motion. Our approach is related\nby the principle of equivalence to Sakharov\u0027s conjecture of a connection\nbetween Einstein action and the vacuum. If correct, this concept would\nsubstitute for Mach\u0027s principle and imply that no further mass-giving\nHiggs-type fields may be required to explain the inertia of material objects,\nalthough extensions to include the zero-point fields of the other fundamental\ninteractions may be necessary for a complete theory of inertia.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9802031",
"authors": [
"Alfonso Rueda",
"Bernhard Haisch"
],
"categories": [
"physics.gen-ph",
"gr-qc",
"physics.class-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00153-4",
"journal_ref": "Phys.Lett. A240 (1998) 115-126",
"title": "Inertia as reaction of the vacuum to accelerated motion",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9802031"
},
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