Gravity CD Content

** 30 document files in HTML format. These should be viewable with any recent-vintage browser able to access web sites.

** 13 PowerPoint presentations, which are computer slides with short illustrations or bullet points describing a specific point or subject. A few have graphics or animated elements. One is narrated. They are all self-guided. The points they summarize may be explained in greater depth in the document files with the same or a similar name. A Power{oint viewer is also included.

Document Files

<21st Century Gravity.htm> is an overview of the whole subject of gravity, including its "how" and "why". This is the newest file and serves as a good introduction to the other files that elaborate specific issues or show how they arose and evolved over the last decade. See also the PowerPoint file of the same name. Published under the same title by T. Van Flandern in Meta Research Bulletin 12, 17-29 (2003); and J.Wash.Acad.Sci. 90#3, 108-125 (2004).

<aberration04.html> This is the animation file illustrating the concept of aberration. See the later file "Propagation delay vs aberration" for a fuller explanation.

<Does Gravity Have Inertia.htm> shows that space does not curve even in general relativity (only "spacetime" does), and that gravity has no force of inertia (because it obeys the "transparency principle"). It shows the physical meaning of the time-like "metric" in GR. Published under the same title by T. Van Flandern in Meta Research Bulletin 11, 49-53 (2002).

<Does the Universe Have a Speed Limit.htm> is an original overview article appearing first on this CD that develops several gravity-related concepts to the point of showing why speeds in the universe are no longer limited to the speed of light. Table I at the end serves as a table of contents for each of the major points about gravity, light, or relativity developed within.

<Effect of Solar Potential on GPS.htm> develops some concepts in general relativity, including the effect of gravitational potential on clocks. It then addresses the puzzle of why GPS satellites show the effect of Earth's gravitational potential on their ticking rates, but not the effect of the Sun's changing gravitational potential across their orbits. See the related presentation file "Gravitational force vs Potential".

<GPS&Twins–MRB.htm> A treatise specifically about the famous twins paradox, treated from the unique perspective of a spacecraft with a GPS clock on board. It dispels the notion that "acceleration" plays a role in understanding the paradox and introduces the concept of "time slippage" to explain the physical meaning of one of the two terms in the Lorentz time transformation, the other of which describes the change in clock rates.

<Gravitational waves challenge.htm> is a short summary of why "gravitational waves" cannot be related to changes in gravitational force, contrary to what some textbooks claim.

<Gravity Intro.htm> This file, which summarizes what may be found in the other files.

<Gravity.htm> is a detailed exposition of a Le Sage-type model for gravitation, the new properties implied, and a comparison of theory and observations. It was originally published as "Gravity", T. Van Flandern, a chapter of the book Pushing Gravity, M. Edwards, ed., Apeiron Press, Montreal, 91-122 (2002).

<GSRL–dok.htm> is an early (1994) exposition of the differences between what is now called "Lorentzian relativity" and Einstein's special relativity.

<Kopeikin experiment – press release response.htm> is a critique of the experiment involving Jupiter passing nearly in front of a quasar, that purported to measure the "speed of gravity" as equal to the speed of light. It cites several other refutations that reach the same conclusion – the experiment does not measure the speed of gravity – while no other authors support the original interpretation. From http://metaresearch.org/media-and-links2/press-releases/kopeikin-and-the-speed-of-gravity (2003).

<Lorentz Contraction.htm> is an article first appearing on this CD that explains the phenomenon of length contraction in physical terms, and shows why it does not exist in Lorentzian relativity. To be published by T. Van Flandern in Meta Research Bulletin 12, (2003).

<LR.htm> compares Einstein special relativity with Lorentzian relativity, and contains a primer on the latter.

<Meta Cycle.htm> is a response to Victor Slabinksi's paper (see "Slabinski-Gravitons"), showing how to convert some of the constraint equations developed by Slabinski into numerical upper or lower limits or estimates of parameters. It then shows how the gravity model fits into a reasonable cosmological context in a universe that ultimately conserves matter, momentum, and even entropy. Published as "The meta cycle", T. Van Flandern, Meta Research Bulletin 7, 43-47 (1998).

<Perihelion Advance Formula follow-up.htm> answers comments on the "Perihelion Advance Formula" paper by two correspondents. Published as "Follow-up to the perihelion advance formula", T. Van Flandern, Meta Research Bulletin 8, 24-30 (1999).

<Perihelion Advance Formula.htm> contains a derivation of the relativistic formula for the advance of perihelion (rotation of the major axis of elliptical orbits), showing how the gravitational potential field can also affect the ballistic motion of material bodies and not just light waves. It derives the correct formula from one physical mechanism; whereas general relativity's similar formula requires three mechanisms, one of which subtracts 40% from the effect of the other two. A testable difference between mechanisms for large-mass binary stars is also mentioned. Published as "The perihelion advance formula", T. Van Flandern, Meta Research Bulletin 8, 10-15 (1999).

<Physics has its Principles.htm> shows the logical basis for all physical reasoning, and how it differs starkly from reasoning in philosophy or mathematics. Failure to respect this difference is the primary source of weirdness in modern mainstream theories. Published under the same title by T. Van Flandern in Gravitation, Electromagnetism and Cosmology, K. Rudnicki, ed., C. Roy Keys Inc., Montreal, 87-101 (2001).

<Possible New Properties of Gravity.htm> An article published under the same title by T. Van Flandern, Astrophysics & Space Science 244, 249-261 (1996), containing early views on how gravity can be explained by a Le Sage-type "pushing" mechanism, and a comparison of theory and observation.

<Propagation delay vs aberration.htm> compares and contrasts aberration and propagation delay, and shows why they are equivalent whether the source or the target body is regarded as moving. It refers to equivalent animations in a number of different formats to meet the needs of most kinds of computers.

<Pushing Gravity book review.htm> provides an overview of the new book Pushing Gravity, likely to also be of interest to purchasers of this CD.

<Relativity of Simultaneity in GPS.htm> is an early and fairly technical derivation of the differences between Lorentzian relativity and special relativity, showing the advantages of the former.

<Slabinski–gravitons.htm> is V. Slabinski's chapter in Pushing Gravity (published as “Force, heat and drag in a graviton model”, M. Edwards, ed., Apeiron Press, Montreal, 123-128), deriving formulas from first principles for various actions in a specific Le Sage-type model, and setting numerical constraints derived in part from the "Meta Cycle" paper.

<Speed of Gravity – FoPh.htm> is a preprint of the latest, comprehensive paper on the subject of the "speed of gravity", answering all objections raised to date of a theoretical or observational nature. The final, co-authored paper was published under the title “Experimental Repeal of the Speed Limit for Gravitational, Electrodynamic, and Quantum Field Interactions”, T. Van Flandern and J.P. Vigier, Foundations of Physics 32(#7), 1031-1068 (2002).

<Speed of Gravity–What Experiments Say.htm> is a preprint of the original publication in a journal of record of the experimental evidence for the speed of gravity being far faster than the speed of light in forward time. See "The speed of gravity – What the experiments say", T. Van Flandern, Physics Letters A 250, 1-11 (1998).

<SR vs LR – Physics Today.htm> contains an unpublished letter to Physics Today magazine critiquing their article by Neil Ashby.

<USENET gravity debate A.htm> Part A of on-line messages posted to USENET science newsgroups between 1998 and 2001, mostly debating the speed of gravity issue.

<USENET gravity debate B.htm> Part B.

<USENET gravity debate C.htm> Part C.

<USENET gravity debate D.htm> Part D.

<What GPS tells us about relativity.htm> explains the experimental history behind the relativity of motion and how GPS sheds light on the matter in unexpected ways.

Presentation Files

StartUp.ppt – default starting presentation (3 slides) for computers that can autostart this CD. Points to "Gravity Intro.htm" for further instructions, and has links to other presentations on this list.

21st Century Gravity.ppt – a companion to the document of the same name, illustrating some of the concepts; subtitled "a deeper understanding of why apples fall from trees". This is the only narrated presentation.

Cesena Workshop.ppt – titled "A complete flat-space gravity model consistent with first-order GR"; an earlier overview of how the pieces of the gravity puzzle fit together.

Does Space Curve-Storrs-2003.ppt – addresses two questions: "Does space curve?" and "Does gravity have inertia?"; answers to both are in the negative.

ESR-LSR.ppt – titled "The difference between Einstein and Lorentz special relativity for one GPS satellite"; a mathematical derivation.

Gravitational Force vs Potential.ppt – titled "The effect of solar gravitational potential on GPS clocks"; offers a nice overview of experiments showing the differences between gravitational force and gravitational potential; see also the document with a similar title.

Interpreting SR.ppt – titled "Interpreting special relativity (in 4 steps)"; compares the two models for the relativity of motion.

Relativity without Einstein.ppt – titled "Implications of relativity without Einstein synchronization in the GPS"; an overview of relativity and the GPS.

SOG – U of Maryland.ppt – titled "The speed of gravity – What the experiments say"; a companion to the document of the same name.

The Relativity of Motion-NPA.ppt – an overview of special relativity (SR) versus Lorentzian relativity (LR).

Twins Paradox.ppt – titled "The twins paradox with GPS clocks"; a companion to the document about the twins paradox and GPS.

What GPS tells us about relativity.ppt – titled "What the Global Positioning System (GPS) tells us about relativity"; part 1 of summary similar to other presentations and documents.

What GPS tell us – Part 2.ppt – titled "What affects clock rates?"; part 2 of the summary that begins in the next presentation.

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