Dear Colleague,
Perhaps you are wondering what happened to "The Many Directions of Time" and whether you will ever get your prerelease copy as I promised. Don't worry, you will. The following summary paragraph (abstract) from my latest paper gives you an idea of what I have been up to during the last few months.
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The solution to the problem of quantum gravity must build an empirically verifiable bridge between the universe observed at subatomic scale (~10^-15 m) and at cosmic scale (~10^25 m). Quantum mechanics describes the underlying structure of matter and energy as quantized waves, while general relativity describes the gravitational field as a large-scale wave in the unified fabric of space and time. Fundamentally, gravity must be described as the superposition of quantized waves in spacetime. The quantized wave components of the gravitational field require an energy source, so the key to solving the problem of quantum gravity is to identify this energy source and to provide an experimental means of verifying the synthesis between this energy source and the effects of gravity. This discussion identifies the energy source of the gravitational field and makes a related empirical prediction that can be performed by an appropriately equipped laboratory. In addition to verifying the quantum energy source of the gravitational field, a positive result of the proposed experiment, confirming the prediction, solves the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. The measurement problem refers to the puzzling dichotomy between the modelled statistical behaviour of particles and the definite physical measurements of their behaviour. The unification of quantum mechanics and gravity is considered to be the supreme problem in the history of science.
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This is a paper I have just recently submitted to a well-known scientific journal for review. I expect to hear back in Q1 2008. I also expect to give a talk about it at the April 2008 APS Meeting in St. Louis. This is related to discussion that previously appeared in "The Many Directions of Time." It occurred to me that I had the right general idea about this, but that my (prior) ideas were ultimately wrong because something essential was missing. I really struggled with this one, but I found the missing thing. As one may expect, the answer was very simple, so simple, that it eluded me for many months. However, I am now confident that this problem is solved. You are al familiar with the distinction between the electric and magnetic fields. --- It turns out that in quantum mechanics there is a similar distinction between the matter wave and ANOTHER complementary wave that exists, but which has been heretofore unknown and a critical missing element in the theory of quantum mechanics. The proposed experiment uses off-the shelf hardware and I expect it to be run by a number of labs who have that hardware and the related expertise within Q1. I am now integrating the ideas from this paper into the book (thus rewriting a few chapters.) When that is done, you will get your book.
Wishing you all a happy and successful New Year,
Alexander F. Mayer
Jay Pritzker Fellowship
Theoretical Physics & Cosmology
Dr. Mayer
Edited: I am most certainly not Dr. Mayer. However, he kindly considers me a friend.
Perhaps you are wondering what happened to "The Many Directions of Time" and whether you will ever get your prerelease copy as I promised. Don't worry, you will. The following summary paragraph (abstract) from my latest paper gives you an idea of what I have been up to during the last few months.
--------------------------------------------------
The solution to the problem of quantum gravity must build an empirically verifiable bridge between the universe observed at subatomic scale (~10^-15 m) and at cosmic scale (~10^25 m). Quantum mechanics describes the underlying structure of matter and energy as quantized waves, while general relativity describes the gravitational field as a large-scale wave in the unified fabric of space and time. Fundamentally, gravity must be described as the superposition of quantized waves in spacetime. The quantized wave components of the gravitational field require an energy source, so the key to solving the problem of quantum gravity is to identify this energy source and to provide an experimental means of verifying the synthesis between this energy source and the effects of gravity. This discussion identifies the energy source of the gravitational field and makes a related empirical prediction that can be performed by an appropriately equipped laboratory. In addition to verifying the quantum energy source of the gravitational field, a positive result of the proposed experiment, confirming the prediction, solves the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. The measurement problem refers to the puzzling dichotomy between the modelled statistical behaviour of particles and the definite physical measurements of their behaviour. The unification of quantum mechanics and gravity is considered to be the supreme problem in the history of science.
--------------------------------------------------
This is a paper I have just recently submitted to a well-known scientific journal for review. I expect to hear back in Q1 2008. I also expect to give a talk about it at the April 2008 APS Meeting in St. Louis. This is related to discussion that previously appeared in "The Many Directions of Time." It occurred to me that I had the right general idea about this, but that my (prior) ideas were ultimately wrong because something essential was missing. I really struggled with this one, but I found the missing thing. As one may expect, the answer was very simple, so simple, that it eluded me for many months. However, I am now confident that this problem is solved. You are al familiar with the distinction between the electric and magnetic fields. --- It turns out that in quantum mechanics there is a similar distinction between the matter wave and ANOTHER complementary wave that exists, but which has been heretofore unknown and a critical missing element in the theory of quantum mechanics. The proposed experiment uses off-the shelf hardware and I expect it to be run by a number of labs who have that hardware and the related expertise within Q1. I am now integrating the ideas from this paper into the book (thus rewriting a few chapters.) When that is done, you will get your book.
Wishing you all a happy and successful New Year,
Alexander F. Mayer
Jay Pritzker Fellowship
Theoretical Physics & Cosmology
Dr. Mayer
Edited: I am most certainly not Dr. Mayer. However, he kindly considers me a friend.