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.pdfIn 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.htmlWhat 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.