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Volume 6: Pages 599-608, 1993
The Unity of Nature and the Search for a Unified Field Theory
Frederick E. Alzofon 1
1P.O. Box 1270, Corvallis, Oregon 97339 U.S.A.
This paper exploits the observed transformability of radiation into matter and its converse to develop a theory that is unified in the sense that radiation and matter appear as different aspects of the same field: the matter‐radiation field. The paper is based upon and discussed from a classical viewpoint, emphasizing conceptual aspects, rather than the theory's formal structure, which has been detailed elsewhere. It is shown that, by incorporating an observed property of radiation into the basis of the theory — fluctuations in the intensity of the radiation comprising a light signal in a vacuum — the Lorentz group of rotations can be extended to include translations of space‐time, of vanishing average magnitude. Moreover, a fundamental, nonvanishing average alteration in the metric of space‐time (a quadratic expression), analogous to the case for Brownian motion is induced. The corresponding alteration in the equations of motion for the field gives rise to equations of motion of Bose‐Einstein and Fermi‐Dirac matter‐radiation fields. The resultant theory has the following properties: the electromagnetic (i.e., Maxwell) field and the gravitational field appear as special cases of the matter‐radiation field, along with a continuous gradation of these into forces which may be identified with nuclear forces on a sufficiently small scale. Inertial mass, gravitational mass, and radiation appear as different aspects of the matter‐radiation field. The theory includes, as special cases, Newtonian mechanics, relativistic mechanics of a mass particle, and quantum mechanics. The probability field introduced in quantum mechanics is replaced by a matter‐radiation field, which is an integral part of the theory rather than grafted into particle mechanics. In this way the sharp division between particle and field is eliminated; the zero‐point infinite energy of quantum mechanics of fields is eliminated and given a new interpretation; the uncertainty principle is reinterpreted; the infinite energy is eliminated of, for example, static, electric, magnetic, and gravitational field potentials, as the separation of test body and source tends to zero. A simple model of the origin of the gravitational force can be based on the theory, along with the suggestion of a direct manner of altering this force by use of present technology. Other implications of the theory can be listed, among them a resolution of the apparent paradox between local realism and quantum mechanics as formulated in the Bell‐type inequalities.
Keywords: unified field theory, unification of matter and radiation, unification of classical and quantum mechanics, removal of infinities, unification of matter, radiation and gravitational fields, means of controlling gravitation, quantum mechanics reconciled with local realism
Received: September 15, 1992; Published Online: December 15, 2008