Frederick David Tombe

The mathematical distinction between the Coulomb Gauge and the Lorenz Gauge is well known. Meanwhile, this article will take a look at what the difference means physically.

Displacement current is associated with wireless radiation, capacitors, and transmission lines. This article will seek to establish the commonality between these three distinct physical manifestations.

An undergraduate student learning about Maxwell’s equations for the first time is typically shown, that with the exception of a part of one of these equations, they can be derived from first principles with reference to nineteenth century experiments. The exception referred to relates to the displacement current term in Ampère’s Circuital Law. Whil...

Maxwell’s displacement current is a controversial topic. It has never been isolated experimentally in wireless radiation, yet its existence in space is a mathematical necessity when it comes to deriving the electromagnetic wave equations. This article will examine how we might justify its existence.

Even though Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell is credited with having united optics and electromagnetism in the 1860s, the Germans had already linked the speed of light to electricity in the 1850s. Those with a negative opinion about Maxwell often like to point out that Gustav Kirchhoff derived the Telegrapher's Equations in 1857 without any n...

The physical significance of the fine-structure constant, 1/137, also known as the Sommerfeld constant, has not as yet been realized by the scientific establishment. This article will hence seek to solve the mystery in connection with the structure of the electromagnetic wave-carrying medium.

An argument that is often presented in order to debunk the idea that a physical medium exists in space to serve as the carrier of light waves, is, that such a medium would interfere with inertial motion and cause friction in the planetary orbits, resulting in the planets spiralling into the Sun. The counter-intuitive behaviour, however, that is obs...

In 1873, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell proposed the plane wave theory of electromagnetic radiation, whereby mutually perpendicular oscillating electric and magnetic fields propagate at the speed of light, in phase with each other and perpendicular to the propagation direction. Meanwhile, since Maxwell’s curl equations imply that the electr...

If ponderable matter serves as a sink for an all-pervading and all-connecting fluid-like aether, the role of rotation in the stability of the universe, and also in the structure of the medium for the propagation of light, will now be examined.

Radio transmission and AC transformers share the fact that both involve the propagation of electromagnetic energy through space, from one electric circuit to another. This article will take a closer look at the application of Faraday's law as it applies in both of these two contexts.

James Clerk Maxwell originally derived his famous equations on the basis that they were the equations that naturally followed hydrodynamically from a sea of tiny aethereal vortices. Nevertheless, Maxwell had difficulty comprehending how such a sea of aethereal vortices could remain stable, and so he introduced electric particles as idle wheels to m...

Maxwell's equations are an extrapolation into outer space, of the equations of electromagnetism that were originally established in connection with laboratory electric circuits. In outer space, however, no source electric circuits, as would be required to give meaning to the terms in the equations, are considered to exist. This discrepancy is of co...

In a steady state electric circuit, it is assumed that the current emerging from one terminal is equal to the current which returns back into the power source at the other terminal. This assumption sits alongside the belief that electric current is primarily a flow of charged particles, but this belief doesn’t sit well with transmission lines. An a...

Just because centrifugal force isn't a Newtonian force doesn't mean that it isn't a real force. While the prevailing point of view is, that a Newtonian force is a superior kind of force as compared with an inertial force, this perspective hinges entirely on the existence of the totally undefined concept known as an inertial frame of reference. So f...

It was German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff in the year 1857 who first identified the connection between the speed of light and the speed of electric signals in a conducting wire. Meanwhile, although charged particles in a conductor don’t travel at anywhere near the speed of light, this is not considered to be a contradiction, because it is gen...

The Lorentz transformation and the equation E = mc 2 are two separate issues. This article will examine the individual physical contexts in which each of them apply separately, and when they apply simultaneously.

This article investigates the paradox surrounding the fact, that while the equations involved in Einstein's special theory of relativity lead to logical absurdities, they are nevertheless supported by many experiments.

The purpose here is to compare the definition of gravitational potential energy, as is used in mechanics, with the intrinsic gravitational energy in atoms and molecules due to their presence in a gravitational field, and then to decide which of these two concepts best intersects with physical reality.

To show that the curl of E = v×B is an additional convective component to the Maxwell-Faraday equation.

This article will examine the extent to which coordinate frame transformations hide the reality of physical processes and substitute it with delusion.

There are two physical effects which cause atomic clocks to run slower. These are motion and gravity, and the rate of retardation can be quantified using equations that are closely related to the equations of relativity. This article will examine why this should be, and what the common physical mechanism is between motion and escape velocity that r...

The transformed time in a Lorentz transformation was originally intended to apply to local time as opposed to astronomical time, but without any clear definition as to what was meant by the term "local time". This article will seek to place local time on a firm physical basis that is relevant to the context under consideration.

Gravity involves a flow of the fundamental aethereal electric fluid. This article will examine in what respect this aether-flow differs from the common understanding of electric current.

A chronology of the main events in the history of the unity of optics and electromagnetism.

This article deals with the controversial topic of longitudinal waves in the same medium that carries electromagnetic waves. It is often claimed that such longitudinal waves have never been detected, and that they would interfere with the reflection and refraction of light, and that hence the luminiferous medium must be incompressible, as such, rul...

Serbian American electrical engineer Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), wrote, “Long ago he (mankind) recognized that all perceptible matter comes from a primary substance, of a tenuity beyond conception, filling all space, the Ākāśa or luminiferous ether, which is acted upon by the life-giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence, in never endi...

In the year 1855, German physicists Wilhelm Eduard Weber and Rudolf Hermann Arndt Kohlrausch performed an experiment involving the discharge of a Leyden jar and they established the ratio between electrostatic and electrodynamic units of charge. This ratio, which became known as Weber's constant, was measured numerically to be c√2, where c was very...

While it is generally accepted that electric current involves the motion of electric charge through conducting channels, there is observable evidence in the field of pulse transmission, that electric current exhibits wave-like behaviour, and that two electric pulses can pass right through each other in opposite directions along the same wire. An at...

The Dirac Sea was proposed by P.A.M. Dirac in the year 1930 to explain the negative solutions to the Dirac Equation of 1928. A few years later, in 1934, Dirac invoked the Dirac Sea idea to explain the phenomena of electron-positron pair production and annihilation, that had been discovered by Carl Anderson in 1932. The suggestion was, that througho...

Electric energy that is generated at a power station flows in one direction only, away from the station and to the consumer, yet, at both the generator end and at the consumer end, the electric current itself alternates to-and-fro. How can this be possible? We will now take a closer look at the transient state that arises in an electric circuit dur...

The rattleback (Celtic stone) is the most mysterious phenomenon in classical mechanics. It freely undergoes a complete reversal of its angular momentum without the involvement of any apparent external torque. This mystery will now be investigated at the molecular level.

University physics courses teach that centrifugal force doesn't exist, while university applied maths courses teach that centrifugal force is merely a fictitious force that arises when making observations from a rotating frame of reference. Meanwhile, Sir Isaac Newton claimed that a centrifugal force is the equal and opposite reaction to a centripe...

The purpose here is to investigate why under certain conditions, cathode rays, being a stream of particles, can be diffracted in a crystal as if they were X-rays, hence apparently exhibiting wave behaviour.

The Planck-Einstein relation, E = hf, relates the energy of discrete pulses of black body radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays to their wave frequency. This relationship appears to contradict the wave theory of light. An investigation will now take place regarding whether the Planck-Einstein relation, and Planck’s constant itself, lie in the domain of...

Displacement current was originally conceived by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861 in connection with linear polarization in a dielectric solid which he believed to pervade all of space. Modern textbooks, however, adopt a different approach. The official teaching today is that displacement current is a consequence of extending the original solenoidal Amp...

Centrifugal force is an inertial effect which is induced by motion through the luminiferous medium. While it can act in opposition to gravity, there is evidence from Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, that gravity, if strong enough, can affect the physical structure of the luminiferous medium in such a way as to destroy the centrifugal force...

When a theory of electromagnetism promotes the idea that the medium for the propagation of light waves is an elastic solid comprised of electric particles, the question is always going to be asked as to why this medium would not generate friction in the planetary orbits, such as would cause the planets to spiral into the Sun. It would be impossible...

Centrifugal force is a well-known concept. It is the familiar outward acting force that is induced in rotating systems. It has many practical applications in engineering, and its mathematical formula plays a crucial role in planetary orbital analysis. It is important therefore to investigate why the physics establishment shies away from embracing t...

Wireless radiation emitted from an antenna is generated on the same principle as that of a magnetic field. One might therefore imagine that the power source should encounter a reactive impedance. The standard belief, however, is that radiation resistance is not in fact reactive, but rather that it is a resistive impedance. This matter will be inves...

Since Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell wrote his Treatise in 1873, it has generally been believed that wireless electromagnetic radiation consists of sinusoidally oscillating electric and magnetic fields, perpendicular to each other and mutually perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The reasons as to why Maxwell concluded these mutua...

Einstein overlooked the fact that the speed of light, as it occurs in the Lorentz transformation equations, is determined by the density and elasticity of a physical medium which pervades all of space, and which acts as the medium for the propagation of light waves. This fact had already been established by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, (...

The Lorentz transformations are best known for the relativistic Lorentz factor, γ = 1/√(1 – v^2/c^2), which appears in the equations of special relativity, and it is also known that the Lorentz transformations can be used to derive both the Biot-Savart law in the form B = γv×E/c^2, and the magnetic force in the form E = γv×B. It could therefore be...

The Poynting vector, S = E×H, represents the rate of flow of electromagnetic energy per unit area per unit time. It appears in Poynting’s theorem because of the involvement of Ampère’s circuital law and Faraday’s law of time-varying electromagnetic induction. It will now be investigated as to whether or not the Poynting vector has any significance...

The purpose is to show that the equation E = mc^2 was already implicit in Maxwell's 1861 paper "On Physical Lines of Force" and that it doesn't mean that mass is equivalent to energy, but rather it relates to the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through a sea of rotating electron-positron dipoles which pervades all of space.

Displacement current is central to starlight in outer space, yet its theoretical justification in textbooks is confined to the restricted context of the space between the plates of a terrestrial electric capacitor. This article will examine how James Clerk Maxwell originally introduced the concept back in the nineteenth century. The modern textbook...

It is generally accepted that the tidal force is due to an inverse cube law force field. However, it is wrongly believed that this inverse cube law force field is the product of differential gravity. The lunar and solar orbits are nearly circular, and as such, gravity cannot be a factor in the tides, because it will have been nullified by orbital c...

Ampère’s Circuital Law is the most controversial of Maxwell’s equations due to its association with displacement current. The controversy centres around the fact that Maxwell’s entire physical basis for introducing the concept of displacement current in the first place, was the existence of a dense sea of molecular vortices pervading all of space....

Ampère’s Circuital Law is the most controversial of Maxwell’s equations due to its association with displacement current. The controversy centres around the fact that Maxwell’s entire physical basis for introducing the concept of displacement current in the first place, was the existence of a dense sea of molecular vortices pervading all of space....

Electromagnetic radiation in deep space, such as starlight, constitutes a propagated disturbance in the prevailing background magnetic field. EM waves can therefore either be directed along the magnetic lines of force, or perpendicular to them, or at any angle in between. With reference to the double helix theory of the magnetic field [1], the comm...

This article is withdrawn as of 25th September 2022. The reason for the withdrawal is that a transmission line pulse travels at a speed in the order of the speed of light, and as such, any associated electrostatic field will have converted into a magnetic field for the reasons explained in red before the abstract.

It will be shown how the magnetic vector potential, A, is a momentum which is central to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, and how the convective electromagnetic force E = v×B is the factor which enables the total time derivative to be used in Faraday's law.

In the year 1855, German physicists Wilhelm Eduard Weber and Rudolf Kohlrausch performed a landmark experiment of profound significance. By discharging a Leyden jar (a capacitor), they linked the speed of light to the ratio between electrostatic and electrodynamic units of charge. This experiment was electromagnetism’s Rosetta Stone because the re...

In Part III of his 1861 paper "On Physical Lines of Force", James Clerk Maxwell introduces the concept of displacement current in connection with the elasticity of the medium for the propagation of light. During the course of Part III, the luminiferous medium changes from an anisotropic sea of molecular vortices into an isotropic dielectric solid....

The centrifugal force and the Coriolis force will be described. There is a controversy over whether these forces are real or fictitious. This controversy will be examined in conjunction with its significance to electromagnetism.

Franz Maria Ulrich Theodor Hoch Aepinus, (1724-1802), suggested that the attractive forces between two uncharged bodies might be very slightly greater than the repulsive forces, and that this difference might be the cause of gravitation.

In the year 1855, German physicists Wilhelm Weber and Rudolf Kohlrausch performed an experiment involving the discharge of a Leyden jar, from which they established the ratio between electrostatic and electrodynamic units of charge. This ratio became known as Weber’s constant and it is numerically equal to c√2, where c is very close to the speed of...

The magnetic field is solenoidal, yet the Biot-Savart Law which is the textbook equation for the magnetic field, indicates the existence of a singularity owing to the fact that it involves an inverse square law in distance. This dilemma is solved within the context that an individual magnetic line of force constitutes a double helix of sinks and so...

A summary of how Maxwell used the experimental result of the 1855 Weber-Kohlrausch experiment in order to establish that light is a transverse wave in the same elastic solid that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. 1855 was the first historical connection between the speed of light and electromagnetism.

The straight line inertial path will be examined from the perspective that it is caused by pressure equilibrium in a sea of tiny aethereal whirlpools that are pressing against each other with centrifugal force while striving to dilate. This is opposite to the traditional perspective whereby centrifugal force is considered to be a consequence of the...

When analyzing pendulum motion, textbooks avoid invoking centrifugal force. All upward acting forces are accounted for by the tension in the rod. This tension must however be greater in magnitude than gravity in order for a net upward force to be possible. The role of centrifugal force in both the simple pendulum and the conical pendulum will there...

It will be argued that if Pythagoras’s Theorem can hold outside of three dimensions, then the only possibility might be in the special case of seven dimensions, but that even this would be highly doubtful.

The radial lines of force that are associated with both electrostatic and gravitational fields indicate the presence of fluid-like sinks and sources in matter, whether or not we know where these lead to. This article will examine how two sinks can be either mutually attractive or mutually repulsive depending on the rate of flow.

The radial lines of force that are associated with both electrostatic and gravitational fields indicate the presence of fluid-like sinks and sources in matter, whether or not we know where these lead to. This article will examine how two sinks can be either mutually attractive or mutually repulsive depending on the rate of flow.

This article follows on from the double helix theory of the magnetic field. A closer look will be taken at the relationship between electromagnetic radiation on the one hand and a magnetic field on the other.

This article takes a closer look at the bonding and stability mechanisms within the electron-positron dipole sea and how these result in the double helix theory of the magnetic field. The physical connection between the inertial forces and magnetic repulsion will be further investigated.

A sea level object that is moving horizontally at a speed greater than 8km/sec is already in orbit and it will rise upwards due to centrifugal force. Two such objects tethered together while moving in opposite directions should therefore spiral upwards like a helicopter. It will be proposed that the atom is a dipole, and that it is the fundamental...

The purpose of presenting this standard derivation, largely copied from applied maths notes taken at Queen's University, Belfast, in 1979, is to show that centrifugal force is as real as gravity, and that no rotating frame of reference is necessary in order to observe it.

Owing to the fact that gravitational field strength has the same physical effect on the internal mechanism of an atomic clock as kinetic energy does, a redefinition of potential energy will be made which better emphasizes this reality. The existing definition of potential energy with its negative sign masks the cyclical oscillation of the internal...

On the astronomical scale, the potential energy in a closed orbit is due to the gravitational force of attraction. These are uncompressed orbits. The gravitational force is opposed by a centrifugal force acting internally from within the system. This article will now consider the nature of the potential energy in a system of multiple orbits that ar...

The situation where two orbits sit side by side occurs inside atomic and molecular matter, but is never observed on the astronomical scale. It will now be investigated whether or not two orbits in the same plane could repel each other with centrifugal force.

The purpose of presenting this standard derivation, largely copied from applied maths notes taken at Queen’s University, Belfast, in 1979, is to show that centrifugal force is as real as gravity, and that no rotating frame of reference is necessary in order to observe it.

The purpose of presenting this standard derivation, largely copied from applied maths notes taken at Queen's University, Belfast, in 1979, is to show that centrifugal force is as real as gravity, and that no rotating frame of reference is necessary in order to observe it.

The AC transformer is a transducer which converts between potential energy and kinetic energy. A step-up transformer increases the voltage and decreases the current while a step-down transformer does the opposite. Despite the low current, streaks of lightning arc out from high voltage cross country power cables when earthed objects get too close. T...

When the electromagnetic wave equation is derived in modern textbooks, Maxwell’s displacement current is used. While investigating the physical meaning of displacement current, this article will take a closer look at the magnetic vector potential A, which Maxwell considered to be a momentum lurking in behind the magnetic field.

The counterintuitive gravity defying behaviour that is exhibited by a pivoted gyroscope suggests the involvement of an active spin-induced force, similar in nature to the magnetic force, F = qv×B. The phenomenon of gyroscopic stability exhibits a strong spin-induced reactance which cannot be accounted for by the moment of inertia alone. The physica...

This article has been superseded by a revised edition, "The 1855 Weber-Kohlrausch Experiment", to be found at this link, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332411168_The_1855_Weber-Kohlrausch_Experiment_The_Speed_of_Light The original version below has been retained, despite some suspected inaccuracies. The reason for the retention is beca...

Wikipedia is the on-line encyclopaedia that anybody can edit. The content changes on a daily basis. One of the rules for editing is that editors must not insert original research. The contents must reflect exactly what is stated in reliable sources. Reliable sources present Coriolis force as an artefact of making observations from a rotating frame...

Wikipedia is the on-line encyclopaedia that anybody can edit. The content changes on a continual basis. One of the rules is that editors must not insert original research. The contents must reflect what is stated in reliable sources. In the case of the centrifugal force article however, reliable sources don’t always agree, and over the years, the...

We often hear it said that centrifugal force is not a real force and that it is only the effects of inertia resulting from a body undergoing its uniform straight line path, as per Newton’s first law of motion. These effects of inertia however are very real and this suggests that the inertial path itself must have an underlying physical cause. This...

The counter intuitive behaviour of the Newton’s Cradle is not, as is generally believed, adequately explained in the literature. In particular, two important issues are overlooked. One of these is that the elasticity of the balls arises due to the fact that the balls are made of hard material that doesn’t easily deform during the collisions, when i...

It is proposed that all space is permeated with a dense electrically neutral sea of electrons and positrons which serves as the medium for the propagation of light. The challenge remains to devise a stable bonding mechanism within this luminiferous medium that conforms with Maxwell's equations by providing the necessary solidity and the physical me...

Galileo’s “Principle of Relativity” omits any consideration of an absolute frame of reference with respect to which motion is measured. Kinetic energy would appear to be a relative quantity whose magnitude depends on the chosen frame of reference, or in the case of its centrifugal force derivative, depends on which polar origin is chosen. The magni...

The aether (or electricity) is a fluid-like substance that is the stuff of all matter and space, and it flows constantly between positive and negative particles, with particles being merely aether sources and aether sinks. Space is densely packed with aether sinks (electrons) and aether sources (positrons). These electrons and posi-trons are paired...

The modern teaching is that centrifugal force only exists as a fictitious force in a rotating frame of reference, and that the only force acting in an inertial frame of reference when a body undergoes circular motion is an inward acting centripetal force. On the contrary however, it is here proposed that a rotating frame of reference, rather than c...

James Clerk Maxwell is credited with having brought electricity, magnetism, and optical phenomena, together into one unified theory. The details of what exactly he did were however seriously distorted in twentieth century physics textbooks. Maxwell is most famous in connection with a set of equations which bear his name, but these equations have be...

Two electric currents flowing in opposite directions along the same wire in a transmission line appear to pass right through each other. We therefore require a theory of electric current that can account for this, while at the same time maintaining consistency with Ampère's circuital law.

Poynting's theorem applies to wireless telegraphy as well as to electric circuits and cable telegraphy. We will therefore seek to establish the commonality between these three phenomena.

Although Maxwell’s most important equations had already appeared throughout his seminal paper entitled “On Physical Lines of Force” [1], which was written in 1861, it was not until 1864 that Maxwell created a distinct listing of eight equations in his follow up paper known as “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” [2]. This was in a sect...

The rattleback (Celtic stone) is the most mysterious phenomenon in classical mechanics. It freely undergoes a complete reversal of its angular momentum without the involvement of any apparent external torque. This mystery will now be investigated.

The Coriolis force is a consequence of Newton's first law of motion and it can be observed in a radial force field as a transverse deflection of the radial component of the motion by an amount required to conserve angular momentum. It is a physical reality most commonly associated with atmospheric cyclones, but it can also be observed deflecting th...

A rolling wheel is driven forwards by virtue of the linear momentum in the upper half of the wheel. A closer examination of the forces involved will reveal the hand of the centrifugal force. The analysis also provides a visual aid to understanding the basic principles behind Ampère's Circuital Law and time-varying electromagnetic induction.

Wireless EM radiation relates to magnetization while the waves that travel alongside the conducting wires in transmission lines relate to linear polarization. This article will examine how these two phenomena may or may not be treated using the same basic electromagnetic wave equations.

Displacement current is the term in Maxwell's modified version of Ampère's Circuital Law that enables the electromagnetic wave equation to be derived. It was originally conceived by Maxwell in connection with displacement of the electric particles in his sea of molecular vortices. It was conceived to exist in deepest space and not necessarily to be...

If we consider space to be dynamical, aether hydrodynamics yields four fundamental forces. These four forces are divided into two groups of two. We have the rotational (or tangential) forces, and we have the irrotational (or radial) forces. Bernoulli, Maxwell and Tesla all believed that space/aether is rendered into tiny whirlpools. As such we need...

During a collision, momentum is always conserved. The large scale kinetic energy on the other hand, may or may not be conserved. When kinetic energy on the large scale is conserved during a collision, we say that the situation is matched. It will be concluded that a matched collision involves only a large scale pulse of aether with a prodigious spe...

The Faraday Paradox and the Newton’s rotating bucket experiment each concern situations involving relative motion where symmetry might be expected but isn’t observed. In the case of the Faraday paradox, a rotating magnet, when rotating about its magnetic axis, will induce no EMF on a stationary charged particle, where on the other hand, the recipro...

Gravity and electricity are both manifestations of aether flow. They differ only in the respect that gravity is a rarefied flow that gives rise to a tension/pull force, whereas electricity is a pressurized flow. A thunder cloud collects and stores aether from the gravitational inflow and releases it again under pressure in the form of electricity....

Electric current is not primarily a flow of charged particles. It is the flow of a fundamental fluid corresponding to the velocity field of the electric field and it can carry charged particles along with it. A dielectricmedium impedes electric currentdue to thefact thattheconstituent dipoles become linearly polarizedand induce a back EMF. A capaci...

Maxwell’s formula for radiation pressure provided a means for deriving the famous equation E = mc^2. This derivation will be examined to see if we can draw any conclusions about the physical nature of the electromagnetic wave propagation mechanism.

When an aeroplane moves horizontally through the air, the air pressure below the wings is greater than the air pressure above the wings. This causes a force to act vertically upwards on the aeroplane, at right angles to its direction of motion. Likewise, when an electric current flows through a wire in a magnetic field, a differential pressure is e...