Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion Physics Forum Thoughts on Matter Waves

I recently read the Nobel Laureate Lecture of Ketterle on Bose Einstein Condensates and Matter Waves, which I find very impressive and extremely fascinating:

http://cua.mit.edu/ketterle_group/Projects_2002/Pubs_02/kett02_%20nobel_RMP.pdf

In particular I noticed that these days we can do with "coherent matter waves" almost everything we can do with light waves, such as: diffraction, refrection, reflection, even beam splitting and in particular interference.

Then I stumbled upon Robert Close website discussing Matter Waves and how Special Relativity can be *DERIVED* from the idea that matter IS indeed waves (just as described by the Schroedinger equation etc)

http://www.classicalmatter.org/ClassicalMatterWaves.html


What I find extremely fascinating about Robert Close ideas is that:
- he derives special relativity based on the idea that space is in fact "real" and a "wave medium"

- If matter are indeed waves, then the idea of matter/antimatter makes a lot of sense (antiwave cancelling the wave)

- This leads to a surprisingly simple explanation of gravity, namely as a sort of optical phenonmenon (refraction of matter waves)

I am now reading a book on "atom optics", and there seems so much evidence that matter is indeed a wave (even if on the large scale of course they behave like particles), that I think we should at least *consider* this idea if it could be true.

If true, I think it would have a significant impact on our understanding of the universe, and if wrong, I think no harm is done discussing it!

Chenopodium

PS: I know this is a very.... controversial topic, but as a critical thinker I think we need to at least consider alternative explanations until proven wrong.

Relativity can be derived a way easier from concept of material waves. By AWT the absence of reference frame is simply given by fact, we are trying to observe the environment for light wave spreading (the vacuum) by it's own waves.

You can observe water surface waves by light waves, for example. But this is not analogy of observation of light spreading in vacuum. Try to imagine, what would you see, if you would try to observe water surface by its own waves.

Aether-and-light-speed-invariance