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1kEinstein was often quoted as saying “If a new theory was not based on a physical image simple enough for a child to understand, it was probably worthless.”
For example in his General Theory of Relativity he derived gravity in terms of a curvature in the geometry of space and time.
Additionally he showed us one can understand why in terms of the physical image of a marble on a curved surface of a rubber diaphragm. The marble follows a circular pattern around the deformity in the surface of the diaphragm. Similarly planets revolve around the sun because they follow a curved path in the deformed “surface” of space-time.
In other words he was able to integrate the physicality of gravity into our consciousness in terms of a physical image based on the reality of a marble moving on a curved surface.
However he was unable to do the same for electrical forces even though he felt, as documented by the American Institute of Physics “that electromagnetism and gravity could both be explained as aspects of some broader mathematical structure”.
“From before 1920 until his death in 1955, Einstein struggled to find laws of physics far more general than any known before. In his theory of relativity, the force of gravity had become an expression of the geometry of space and time. The other forces in nature, above all the force of electromagnetism, had not been described in such terms. But it seemed likely to Einstein that electromagnetism and gravity could both be explained as aspects of some broader mathematical structure. The quest for such an explanation — for a “unified field†theory that would unite electromagnetism and gravity, space and time, all together — occupied more of Einstein’s years than any other activity.
One reason may be because electrical force appears to be more closely related to the spatial not the time properties of our universe because they can be both attractive and repulsive whereas gravity is unidirectional attractive force.
In other words because time is only observed to move in one direction forward, it is difficult to incorporate the bidirectional component of electrical forces in terms of a physical image based on the geometry of space-time. However it is much easer if one defines them in terms of the geometry four *spatial* dimensions because one can more two directions, backwards of forwards in a spatial dimension.
Einstein gave us the ability to do this when he used the velocity of light and the equation E=mc^2 to define geometric properties of space-time because it allows one to convert a unit of time in his four dimensional space-time universe to a unit of space in a one consisting of only four *spatial* dimensions. Additionally because the velocity of light is constant it is possible to defined a one to one correspondence between his space-time universe and one made up of four *spatial* dimensions.
In other words by mathematically defining the geometric properties of time in his space-time universe in terms of the constant velocity of light he provided a qualitative and quantitative means of redefining it in terms of the geometry of four *spatial* dimensions thereby giving one the ability to define the bidirectional components of electrical forces in terms of the multi directional properties of the spatial dimensions.
The fact that one can use Einstein’s equations to qualitatively and quantitatively redefine the curvature in space-time he associated with gravity in terms of four *spatial* dimensions is one bases for assuming, as was done in the article “Defining energy?†Nov 27, 2007 that all forms of energy including gravitational and electromagnetism can be derived in terms of a spatial displacement in a “surface†of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
This would have allowed him to form a physical image of electrical force as was done in the article “What is electromagnetism?“ Sept, 27 2007 in terms of the differential force caused by the “peaks” and “toughs” of a matter wave moving on a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
Briefly it showed it is possible to derive the electrical properties of electromagnetism by extrapolating the laws of Classical Wave Mechanics in a three-dimensional environment to a matter wave moving on a “surface” of three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
A wave on the two-dimensional surface of water causes a point on that surface to be become displaced or rise above or below the equilibrium point that existed before the wave was present. A force will be developed by the differential displacement of the surfaces, which will result in the elevated and depressed portions of the water moving towards or become “attracted” to each other and the surface of the water.
Similarly a matter wave on the “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension would cause a point on that “surface” to become displaced or rise above and below the equilibrium point that existed before the wave was present.
Therefore, classical wave mechanics, if extrapolated to four *spatial* dimensions tells us a force will be developed by the differential displacements caused by a matter wave moving on a “surface” of three-dimensional space with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension that will result in its elevated and depressed portions moving towards or become “attracted” to each other.
This defines the causality of the attractive forces of unlike charges associated with the electromagnetic wave component of a photon in terms of a force developed by a differential displacement of a point on a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
However, it also provides a classical mechanism for understanding why similar charges repel each other because observations of water show that there is a direct relationship between the magnitudes of a displacement in its surface to the magnitude of the force resisting that displacement.
Similarly the magnitude of a displacement in a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension caused by two similar charges will be greater than that caused by a single one. Therefore, similar charges will repel each other because the magnitude of the force resisting the displacement will be greater for two charges than it would be for a single charge.
One can define the causality of electrical component of electromagnetic radiation in terms of the energy associated with its “peaks” and “troughs” that is directed perpendicular to its velocity vector while its magnetic component would be associated with the horizontal force developed by that perpendicular displacement.
However, Classical Mechanics tells us a horizontal force will be developed by that perpendicular or vertical displacement which will always be 90 degrees out of phase with it. This force is called magnetism.
This is analogous to how the vertical force pushing up of on mountain also generates a horizontal force, which pulls matter horizontally towards the apex of that displacement.
This shows how one can define a physician image for the causality electrical forces in terms by extrapolating the laws of classical mechanics in a three-dimensional environment to consisting of four dimensional space time or four *spatial* dimensions.
However viewing electromagnetism in terms of its spatial instead of its time properties allows one to understand its quantum mechanic properties in of a physical image based on the observable properties of waves in three dimensional space.
However it also allows one to integrate the quantum mechanical properties of electromagnetism into the continuous field properties General Relativity
For example the article “Why is energy/mass quantized?†Oct. 4, 2007 showed one can physical derive the quantized wave properties of electromagnetism by extrapolating the field properties of classical wave mechanics in a three-dimensional environment to a matter wave on a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
Briefly it showed the four conditions required for resonance to occur in a classical environment, an object, or substance with a natural frequency, a forcing function at the same frequency as the natural frequency, the lack of a damping frequency and the ability for the substance to oscillate spatial would occur in one consisting of four spatial dimensions.
The existence of four *spatial* dimensions would give a matter wave the ability to oscillate spatially on a “surface” between a third and fourth *spatial* dimensions thereby fulfilling one of the requirements for classical resonance to occur.
These oscillations would be caused by an event such as the decay of a subatomic particle or the shifting of an electron in an atomic orbital. This would force the “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold to oscillate with the frequency associated with the energy of that event.
The oscillations caused by such an event would serve as forcing function allowing a resonant system or “structure” to be established space.
Therefore, these oscillations in a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold would meet the requirements mentioned above for the formation of a resonant system or “structure” in four-dimensional space if one extrapolated them to that environment.
Classical mechanics tells us the energy of a resonant system can only take on the discrete or quantized values associated with it fundamental or a harmonic of its fundamental frequency.
Hence, these resonant systems in four *spatial* dimensions would be responsible for the discrete quantized energy associated with the quantum mechanical properties of a photon or electromagnetic field.
Yet one can also define its boundary conditions in terms of the classical laws space and time.
For example in classical physics, a point on the two-dimensional surface of paper is confined to that surface. However, that surface can oscillate up or down with respect to three-dimensional space.
Similarly an object occupying a volume of three-dimensional space would be confined to it however, it could, similar to the surface of the paper oscillate “up†or “down†with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
The confinement of the “upward†and “downward†oscillations of the field properties of mass with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension is what defines the spatial boundaries associated with a particle in the article “Why is energy/mass quantized?“
In other words one can form a physical image of why electromagnetic energy is quantized in terms of the same wave properties that was earlier was associated with its attractive and repulsive properties.
As mentioned earlier Einstein felt “that electromagnetism and gravity could both be explained as aspects of some broader mathematical structure”.
The above discussion vindicates that belief because it shows that one can not only incorporate gravity and the continuous wave properties of electromagnetism but also its quantum properties into a broader mathematical structure by rewriting the space-time field concepts of General Theory of Relativity in terms of four *spatial* dimensions
It should be remember that Einstein’s genius allows us to choose whether to create physical images of an unseen “reality” in either a space-time environment or one consisting of four *spatial* dimension when he defined the geometry of space-time in terms of the constant velocity of light.
Later Jeff
Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2015
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