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PLAN OF 0.FIRST AND SECOND ENLIGHTENMENT
0a outline
FIRST ENLIGHTENMENT
0b galilean relativity and newton
0c descartes
0d aether and dogmatic thinking
SECOND ENLIGHTENMENT
0e einstein and extended relativity
0f kant and einstein
Og EPR Paradox
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Site Plan
0D AETHER AND DOGMATIC THINKING
In Newton's Model Physics found a rigorous representation of Gravity, which ruled
unchallenged for centuries and even currently continues to be the most pertinent
approximation for low speeds and weak Field areas.
Optics, on the contrary, lacked a consistent theory and accumulated without cease
new problems and difficulties. As we said above (0B GALILEAN RELATIVITY AND
NEWTON'S MODEL), physicists abandoned the corpuscular theory of light replacing
it with wave theory, without, unfortunately, renouncing the dogma of mechanistic
Universe. Following this dogma, they founded Optics in a supreme noumenal crutch,
in a hypothetical corpuscular "substance" called Aether. It has been conceived
by analogy with well known wave phenomena such as sound whose propagation is
supported by discrete media, by oscillating particles of corpuscular fluids -
gases or liquids.
Light manifesting however, essentially different behavior than sound, like
propagating through vacuum, the theory started with severe problems whose
apparent solutions created other, still more complex ones, reaching the apogee
after the discovery of electro-magnetic field by Maxwell. The complexity of
mathematics trying obstinately to save the purely a priori noumenal crutch,
surpassed that of most known theories. Aether was probably the largest waste of
effort and ingenuity in the history of Science which shows how dangerous it is
to found scientific theories in a priori metaphysical beliefs such as the
mechanistic dogma.
This seems to be a crucial lesson for us living in an epoch ruled increasingly by
irrational beliefs, torn by religious, chauvinistic wars and genocides, where
dogmatism is gaining all social domains including established science and
education, where exorcists graduating from the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum
University of Vatican, together with other Creationists and Intelligent Designists
infiltrate "scientific education" and start talking about resurrecting geocentric
cosmology founded in sacrosanct verbatim interpretation of Genesis. Amidst this
deluge of aggressive Dogmatism, the souvenir of Aether mishaps may help to save
at least the Rationality of Science.
As the Aether theory has been irremediably scrapped, we shall briefly mention
some of its principal problems without entering into details of involved complex
mathematics.
Light propagates through vacuum and "matter" such as glass or water, thus the
whole cosmic space must be filled by Aether, whether the apparent vacuum or
"material substances". Mechanistic view suggests that Aether should present
resistance to movements of stellar bodies. but no such effect has been observed
and they keep on moving undisturbed through interstellar space.
So, Aether had to be retackled to make it interact with light but not with
"matter". Mathematic difficulties apart, how could such a "substance" be
reconciled with mechanistic view, is a mystery. Apparently, the Olympus of
a priori allows to stretch any point to make it fit any dogmatic construct.
Anyway, all these efforts were in vain: going through glass or water light
changes speed, so Aether has to interact with "matter".
New mathematical crutches reached hardly ever equaled complexity having to take
care of an additional difficulty, namely polarization requiring transverse light
waves. Those require in turn the propagating medium to behave as a solid.
So one had to deal with a "substance" which behaves like a solid with respect to
light, like no-interaction vacuum with respect to "matter" of stellar bodies,
while interacting with "matter" which it permeates like glass or water in a way
to modify the speed of light waves in function of their length. Mathematical
problems apart, the pile of contradictions involved by such "substance" should
have indicated its aberration, but one would shirk nothing to save a dogmatic
belief: mathematical acrobatics described a "substance" vacuum-like at macroscopic
sizes, solid-like at ultramicroscopic sizes, sometimes interacting with "matter"
and sometimes not.
It could be expected that Maxwell's definition of light being a particular case of
electro-magnetic Field propagating at the speed C, would sound the knell of Aether
phantasm. Especially, considering that Galilean Relativity banning absolute speed
and privileged Referentials, required this C to be the same in all IR's. But the
mechanistic dogma was too strong and rather than call it in question, one
sacrificed on its altar the very base of contemporary Physics, the Galilean
Relativity. Aether became a universal, ABSOLUTE, absolutely immobile Referential,
in which light moves at C.
Strangely enough nobody noticed, or at least nobody mentioned that Mechanics being
at the time defined and covariant exclusively in IR's, it was illegal to apply
mechanistic principles to the absolute Aether, nor that all other IR's became
absolute by virtue of their relations to Aether, thus making Physics universally
unfounded and undefined.
Be it as it may, light was supposed to move in other Referentials,
for instance at Earth, at speed Ce = C + Ve, where:
Ce is speed of light with respect to Earth,
Ve is speed of Earth with respect to Aether.
This assumption called for empiric verification: Ce measured as different from C
would confirm the existence of Aether and determine the ABSOLUTE spead of Earth
with respect to ABSOLUTELY immobile Aether.
However, the Michelson-Morley experiment proved that light moved with respect to
Earth at Maxwell's speed C, thus refuting the hypothesis of universal, absolute
and absolutely immobile Aether.
With unbelievable obstination some physicists made last superhuman efforts to
save the mechanistic dogma by restructuring Aether so that it would be "dragged"
by stellar bodies thus moving in their vicinity at their speed. However, this
hypothesis would involve C depending of the speed of light source which was
experimentally refuted and Aether finally died taking with it into the grave
the metaphysical mechanistic dogmatism.
This critique of the Aether Model may look rather severe, but it may by no means
be interpreted as looking down on Planck, Maxwell, Lorentz and other great
physicists who argued for it with ingenuity surpassing most other scientific
endeavors.
It is meant to emphasize the dangers of founding Theories dogmatically in a priori
metaphysical beliefs, actually more serious for Socio-Political than for Physical
Theories. For Physics such dangers are, after all, restricted to science. For
Socio-Political domain encompassing demography, ecology, religious and ethnic
fundamentalism, globalized economy, politics and warfare, they cast doubt upon
the very survival of the mankind.
