Related papers: On Mach's Principle and the "Special" Theory of Re…
We review the experimental evidence for Einstein's special and general relativity. A variety of high precision null experiments verify the weak equivalence principle and local Lorentz invariance, while gravitational redshift and other clock…
Recent discovery of the rate of expansion of the Universe (Reiss A.G. et al., 1998; Perlimutter S. et al., 1999) is connected with the vacuum energy in space which, in turn, can be considered (Gliner E.B., 1965) as the cosmological constant…
It is pointed out that recent cosmological findings seem to support the view that the mass/energy distribution of the universe defines the Newtonian inertial frames as originally suggested by Mach. The background concepts of inertial frame,…
We review the status of "Einstein-Aether theory", a generally covariant theory of gravity coupled to a dynamical, unit timelike vector field that breaks local Lorentz symmetry. Aspects of waves, stars, black holes, and cosmology are…
A major consequence of special relativity, expressed in the relation $E_0 = m c^2$, is that the total energy content of an object at rest, including its thermal motion and binding energy among its constituents, is a measure of its inertia,…
Einstein believed that Mach's principle should play a major role in finding a meaningful spacetime geometry, though it was discovered later that his field equations gave some solutions which were not Machian. It is shown, in this essay,…
Einstein regarded as one of the triumphs of his 1915 theory of gravity --- the general theory of relativity --- that it vindicated the action--reaction principle, while Newtonian mechanics as well as his 1905 special theory of relativity…
We consider one of the fundamental debates in performing the relativity theory, namely, the ether and the relativity points of view, in a way to aid the learning of the subjects. In addition, we present our views and prospects while…
Starting from the origin of Einstein general relativity (GR) the request of Mach on the theory's structure has been the core of the foundational debate. That problem is strictly connected with the nature of the mass-energy equivalence. It…
Quantum nonlocality would naturally fit into a version of relativity with a preferred reference system. However, acceptance of this idea has traditionally required experimental evidence. Namely, detecting in laboratory a small angular…
The equivalence of mass and energy is indelibly linked with relativity, both by scientists and in the popular mind. I prove that E = mc^2 by demanding momentum conservation of an object that emits two equal electromagnetic wave packets in…
"Non-Locality is most naturally incorporated into a theory in which there is a special frame of reference. One possible candidate for this special frame of reference is the one in which the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is isotropic.…
Gravitation might make a preferred frame appear, and with it a clear space/time separation--the latter being, a priori, needed by quantum mechanics (QM) in curved space-time. Several models of gravitation with an ether are discussed: they…
The meaning and significance of Mach's Principle and its dependence on ideas about relativistic rotating frame theory and the celestial sphere is explained and discussed. Two new relativistic rotation transformations are introduced by using…
This work concerns the loss of energy of a material system due to gravitational radiation in Einstein-aether theory-an alternative theory of gravity in which the metric couples to a dynamical, timelike, unit-norm vector field. Derived to…
General Relativity (GR) is a phenomenologically successful theory that rests on firm foundations, but has not been tested on cosmological scales. The advent of dark energy (and possibly even the requirement of cold dark matter), has…
The question of where the inertial properties of matter come from has been open for a long time. Isaac Newton considered inertia an intrinsic property of matter. Ernst Mach held a different view whereby the inertia of a body comes from its…
At the end of the 19th century light was regarded as an electromagnetic wave propagating in a material medium called ether. The speed c appearing in Maxwell's wave equations was the speed of light with respect to the ether. Therefore,…
Mach's principle is incompatible with general relativity (GR), it has not condensed into an established theory and suffers from inconsistencies. Yet, the problem is that Mach's principle is a consequence of Berkeley's notions, which are as…
After an overview of various citations relevant in the context of photon propagation, the relativistic Doppler effect and the addition theorem of velocities are first derived taking into account momentum and energy conservation. Clocks and…