Related papers: Revisiting the Abraham-Minkowski Dilemma
It is often claimed that the fundamental laws of physics are deterministic and time-symmetric and that therefore our experience of the passage of time is an illusion. This paper will critically discuss these claims and show that they are…
Light in a dielectric medium moves slower than in vacuum. The corresponding electromagnetic field equations are then no longer invariant under ordinary Lorentz transformations, but only under such transformations corresponding to this…
Based on the hypothesis that the (non-reversible) arrow of time is intrinsic in any system, no matter how small, the consequences are discussed. Within the framework of local quantum physics it is shown how such a semi-group action of time…
We argue that the construction of spacetime is personal, specific to each observer, and requires combining aspects of both discovery and creation. What is usually referred to as the block universe then emerges by noting that part of the…
The continuum of real numbers has served well as a model for physical space in mechanics and field theories. However it is a well-motivated and popular idea that at the fundamental Planck scale the combination of gravitational and quantum…
I discuss some theoretical ideas concerning the representation of quantum gravity as a Lorentz-symmetry-violating `medium' with non-trivial optical properties, which include a refractive index in `vacuo' and stochastic effects associated…
We present a simple thought experiment in which a beam of light of a finite length (a light-pulse) enters a detection device that consists of a wave detector and a light bulb. We examine the experiment from the reference frame where the…
Applications of the covariant theory of drive-forms are considered for a class of perfectly insulating media. The distinction between the notions of "classical photons" in homogeneous bounded and unbounded stationary media and in stationary…
We exam the validity of the definition of the ADM angular momentum without the parity assumption. Explicit examples of asymptotically flat hypersurfaces in the Minkowski spacetime with zero ADM energy-momentum vector and finite non-zero…
In the first part of this paper we review several formalisms which give alternative ways for describing the light. They are: the formalism `baroque' and the Majorana-Oppenheimer form of electrodynamics, the Sachs' theory of Elementary…
Starting from the classical Newton's second law which, according to our assumption, is valid in any instantaneous inertial rest frame of body that moves in Minkowskian space-time we get the relativistic equation of motion…
Textbooks state that the successful application of Maxwell's Equations in physical optics problems requires light to interact with matter where any inhomogeneities are spaced by less than or equal to the wavelength of light; the 'dense'…
The concept of rigid reference frame and of constricted spatial metric, given in the previous work [\emph{Class. Quantum Grav.} {\bf 21}, 3067,(2004)] are here applied to some specific space-times: In particular, the rigid rotating disc…
To consider a medium carrying light and electromagnetic waves is impossible, when this medium shall have properties according to the principle of constant speed of light, that is, isotropy of speed of light in every system of reference.…
While the numerical value of the speed of light is known with extraordinary precision, its theoretical definition remains a subject of fundamental interest. We show that the definition of mass and velocity of light follow from the conserved…
While special relativity imposes an absolute speed limit at the speed of light, our Universe is not empty Minkowski spacetime. The constituents that fill the interstellar/intergalactic vacuum, including the cosmic microwave background…
The apparent Lorentz invariance of the laws of physics does not imply that space-time is indeed minkowskian. Matter made of solutions of Lorentz-invariant equations would feel a relativistic space-time even if the actual space-time had a…
The suggestion that there is a maximum luminosity (maximum power) in nature has a long and somewhat convoluted history. Though this idea is commonly attributed to Freeman Dyson, he was actually much more circumspect in his views. What is…
For over a century, two rival descriptions of electromagnetic field momentum in matter have co-existed, due to Abraham and Minkowski, respectively. We propose a set-up for measuring the difference between Abraham's and Minkowski's…
The arrow of time dilemma: the laws of physics are invariant for time inversion, whereas the familiar phenomena we see everyday are not (i.e. entropy increases). I show that, within a quantum mechanical framework, all phenomena which leave…