New Quantum Theory Separates Gravitational and Inertial Mass

[Maddogkull1]

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25331/

The equivalence principle is one of the more fascinating ideas in modern science. It asserts that gravitational mass and inertial mass are identical. Einstein put it like this: the gravitational force we experience on Earth is identical to the force we would experience were we sitting in a spaceship accelerating at 1g. Newton might have said that the m in F=ma is the same as the ms in F=Gm1m2/r^2.

This seems eminently sensible. And yet it is no more than an assertion. Sure, we can measure the equivalence with ever increasing accuracy but there is nothing to stop us thinking that at some point the relationship will break down. Indeed several modifications to relativity predict that it will.

One important question is what quantum mechanics has to say on the matter. But physicists have so far been unable to use quantum theory as a lever to tease apart the behaviour of inertial and gravitational mass.

All that changes today with the extraordinary work of Endre Kajari at the University of Ulm in Germany and a few buddies. They show how it is possible to create situations in the quantum world in which the effects of inertial and gravitational mass must be different. In fact, they show that these differences can be arbitrarily large.

Their thinking begins by pointing out the important distinction between kinematics, which is concerned purely with motion not how it arises, and dynamics which focuses on the origin of motion. In the classical world, this has no bearing on the effects of inertial and gravitational mass.

However, in the quantum world, the way states are prepared has huge significance. They point out, for example, that the wave function of a particle in a box does not depend on mass at all whereas the energy wave function of a harmonic oscillator depends on the square root of the mass.

More On the site I posted. Tell me what you think.

[Maddogkull1]

No one has anything to say about this? Am I the only one who thinks this is pretty big?

[Maddogkull1]

No one has anything to say about this? Am I the only one who thinks this is pretty big?

[Dotini]

Actually this is pretty ho-hum. As a competition kart racer, I can easily assure you there is a profound difference between gravitational and inertial mass.

[StevenO]

You know....a "wave function" is just math. Bad math actually. They just assume the wave function does not depend on mass like they "assume" a photon does not have mass because the experiments are not accurate enough to determine it. But the real world does'nt use math.

[keeha]

http://www.simplegravity.com/

Rotational dark energy
______matter (nuclear energy, magnetism, electric field)

Oscillatory dark energy
______electromagnetic radiation (thermal energy, light, microwaves, radio waves etc.)

Dark energy in linear acceleration
______gravity (euclidean distortion/space curvature)

And a note that other wave structure theories see the linear acceleration as an effect of aetheric standing wave harmonics.

[StevenO]

And a note that other wave structure theories see the linear acceleration as an effect of aetheric standing wave harmonics.

It is the other way around. The combination of a linear motion and linear acceleration creates a wave.