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Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction as the Unique Closure Condition for Moving Spherical-Harmonic Cavities

History and Philosophy of Physics 2026-05-01 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Classical Physics

Abstract

We prove that the Lorentz--FitzGerald contraction is the unique deformation of a resonant cavity moving through a mechanical wave medium that preserves spherical-harmonic phase closure. For a cavity moving at speed v=βcv = \beta c through a medium supporting nondispersive wave propagation at speed cc, the round-trip phase of an internal ray at angle θ\theta to the motion depends on the boundary radius r(θ)r(\theta) according to Φ(θ)=2kr(θ)1β2sin2θ/(1β2)\Phi(\theta) = 2k\,r(\theta)\sqrt{1-\beta^2\sin^2\theta}/(1-\beta^2). Requiring Φ(θ)\Phi(\theta) to be independent of θ\theta -- the necessary condition for retaining a spherical-harmonic eigenstructure -- uniquely fixes the Lorentzian aspect ratio aa=1γ=1β2. \frac{a_\parallel}{a_\perp} = \frac{1}{\gamma} = \sqrt{1-\beta^2}. Substituting this unique boundary into the round-trip time yields the resonant period dilation T=γT0T = \gamma T_0, without additional assumptions. Both results -- contraction and dilation -- follow from a single mechanical constraint: preservation of eigenstructure under motion. This is the missing uniqueness theorem of the constructive relativity program initiated by FitzGerald, Lorentz, and Heaviside: the proof that Lorentzian kinematics are not merely consistent with, but uniquely required by, phase closure in a mechanical wave medium.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.27525,
  title  = {Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction as the Unique Closure Condition for Moving Spherical-Harmonic Cavities},
  author = {Shiva Meucci},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.27525},
  year   = {2026}
}

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7 pages