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1kAs was mentioned in the Scientific American article “Is Gravity Quantum?“
“All the fundamental forces of the universe are known to follow the laws of quantum mechanics, save one: gravity. However, finding a way to fit gravity into quantum mechanics would bring scientists a giant leap closer to a “theory of everything” that could entirely explain the workings of the cosmos from first principles. A crucial first step in this quest to know whether gravity is quantum is to detect the long-postulated elementary particle of gravity, the gravitron. In search of the graviton, physicists are now turning to experiments involving microscopic superconductors, free-falling crystals and the afterglow of the big bang.”
When Einstein was asked about the consequences of not being able to observe the graviton he replied “It seems as though we must sometimes use one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do”
However, there is a way of fitting gravity into quantum mechanics that does on involve observing the gravitron.
Quantum mechanics assumes all forces are defined by a particle wave dichotomy while Einstein General Theory of Relativity tells us that gravity causes ripples or waves in the fabric of space-time. However, if one can use the concepts developed by Einstein to show that those gravity waves also exists as a particle wave dichotomy similar to the particle wave dichotomy of quantum mechanics one may be able define a physical connection between his theories and quantum mechanics.
But before we begin, we must first define the relationship between how that particle wave dichotomy manifests itself in the quantum world.
The physicist John Wheeler said the best answer was given by Aatish Bhatia “Don’t look: waves. Look: particles.” That’s quantum mechanics in a nutshell.”
In other words, quantum mechanics tells us when a force is observed to interact with an object such as a proton or electron the particle component of its dichotomy becomes predominate while its wave properties only present themselves as it moves unhindered through space.
As was mentioned earlier one may be able to bridge the gap between Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity if one can define how and why the wave in space-time Einstein associated with gravity exist as a particle wave dichotomy similar to the other forces that quantum mechanics defines in those terms.
One of the problems we face in doing this is that his theory defines the force of gravity with respect to time while Quantum theory defines all forces in terms of the spatial properties of position when interacting with objects.
However, Einstein gave us a way to transform his time based definition of gravity into a spatial one which is more consistent with Quantum Mechanics spatially oriented definition of a particle when he defined gravities geometric properties in terms of the constant velocity of light. This is because it allows one to convert a unit of time in his four-dimensional space-time universe to a unit of a space in one consisting of only four *spatial* dimensions which would be more consistent with quantum mechanics position orient definition of a particle. 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, he provided a qualitative and quantitative means of redefining his space-time universe in terms of an equivalent one in only four *spatial* dimensions.
However, redefining the time based geometry of gravity in terms of its equivalent in four *spatial* dimensions also allows one to not only understand why all forces, including gravity exist as a particle wave dichotomy but also, as mentioned earlier the interaction or non-interaction of a force with anything determines which of those “realities” becomes predominate.
For example the article “Why is energy/mass quantized?” Oct. 4, 2007 showed one can derive particle properties of the wave component of gravities dichotomy by extrapolating the laws 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 its wave component 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 collision of two black holes. 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 its fundamental or a harmonic of its fundamental frequency.
Hence, these resonant systems in four *spatial* dimensions would be responsible for the discrete quantized energy quantum mechanics associates with the particle component of its particle wave dichotomy.
Yet, it also allowed one to derive the physical boundaries of the particle component of its dichotomy in terms of the geometric properties of four *spatial* dimensions.
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 a three-dimension volume with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension by the interaction of forces with “things” in three-dimensional space is what defines the spatial boundaries of the resonant system of the particle component of it particle wave dichotomy defined in the article “Why is energy/mass quantized?” Oct. 4, 2007.
In other words, Einstein theories tell us the particle component of the particle wave dichotomy of gravity would appear or become reality when it confined to three-dimensional space by its interaction with “something” in three-dimensional space.
This is similar to the particle wave dichotomy quantum mechanics associates with all forces in that they manifest themselves as waves until the interact with another quantum system.
Not only that but it allows one to form a direct connection between the General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanic’s assumption that reality is defined in terms of a particle wave dichotomy because the same logic used above can be applied to all forces to explain why, if a force is allowed to move uninhibited through space the wave reality of its dichotomy will be predominate and why if it interacts with anything its particle ones will be predominate.
In other words, we do not have to observe the Gravitron to bring quantum mechanics and its particle wave dichotomy into the Theoretical environment of General Relativity because the physical reasons for that dichotomy are inherent in its theoretical structure.
Additionally, it gives consistent explanation of why one can sum up quantum mechanics in these words “Don’t look: waves. Look: particles” by extrapolating the “single” physical picture provided by the General Theory of Relativity to all quantum systems.
It should be remembered that Einstein’s genius and the symmetry of his mathematics allows us to choose whether to define the reality of a quantum system in either a space-time environment or one consisting of four *spatial* dimension.
Later Jeff
Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2020
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