Alfonso Rueda

Contribution to inertial mass by reaction of the vacuum to accelerated motion

We present an approach to understanding the origin of inertia involving the electromagnetic component of the quantum vacuum and propose this as a step toward an alternative to Machs principle. Preliminary analysis of the momentum flux of the classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation impinging on accelerated objects as viewed by an inertial observer suggests that the resistance to acceleration attributed to inertia may be at least in part a force of opposition originating in the vacuum. This analysis avoids the ad hoc modeling of particle-field interaction dynamics used previously by Haisch, Rueda, and Puthoff (Phys. Rev. A 49, 678, (1994)) to derive a similar result. This present approach is not dependent upon what happens at the particle point, but on how an external observer assesses the kinematical characteristics of the zero-point radiation impinging on the accelerated object. A relativistic form of the equation of motion results from the present analysis. Its manifestly covariant form yields a simple result that may be interpreted as a contribution to inertial mass. We note that our approach is related by the principle of equivalence to Sakharovs conjecture (Sov. Phys. Dokl. 12, 1040, (1968)) of a connection between Einstein action and the vacuum. The argument presented may thus be construed as a descendant of Sakharovs conjecture by which we attempt to attribute a mass-giving property to the electromagnetic component—and possibly other components—of the vacuum. In this view the physical momentum of an object is related to the radiative momentum flux of the vacuum instantaneously contained in the characteristic proper volume of the object. The interaction process between the accelerated object and the vacuum (akin to absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation) appears to generate a physical resistance (reaction force) to acceleration suggestive of what has been historically known as inertia.

Gravity and the Quantum Vacuum Inertia Hypothesis

In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be extended to passive gravitational mass. As a consequence the weak equivalence principle, which equates inertial to passive gravitational mass, appears to be explainable. This in turn leads to a straightforward derivation of the classical Newtonian gravitational force. We call the inertia and gravitation connection with the vacuum fields the quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis. To date only the electromagnetic field has been considered. It remains to extend the hypothesis to the effects of the vacuum fields of the other interactions. We propose an idealized experiment involving a cavity resonator which, in principle, would test the hypothesis for the simple case in which only electromagnetic interactions are involved. This test also suggests a basis for the free parameter η(ν) which we have previously defined to parametrize the interaction between charge and the electromagnetic zero-point field contributing to the inertial mass of a particle or object.

Advances in the proposed electromagnetic zero-point field theory of inertia

A NASA-funded research effort has been underway at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto and at California State University in Long Beach to develop and test a recently published theory that Newtons equation of motion can be derived from Maxwells equations of electrodynamics as applied to the zero-point field (ZPF) of the quantum vacuum. In this ZPF-inertia theory, mass is postulated to be not an intrinsic property of matter but rather a kind of electromagnetic drag force that proves to be acceleration dependent by virtue of the spectral characteristics of the ZPF. The theory proposes that interactions between the ZPF and matter take place at the level of quarks and electrons, hence would account for the mass of a composite neutral particle such as the neutron. An effort to generalize the exploratory study of Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (1994) into a proper relativistic formulation has been successful. Moreover the principle of equivalence implies that in this view gravitation would also be electromagnetic in origin along the lines proposed by Sakharov (1968). With regard to exotic propulsion we can definitively rule out one speculatively hypothesized mechanism: matter possessing negative inertial mass, a concept originated by Bondi (1957) is shown to be logically impossible. On the other hand, the linked ZPF-inertia and ZPF-gravity concepts open the conceptual possibility of manipulation of inertia and gravitation, since both are postulated to be electromagnetic phenomena. It is hoped that this will someday translate into actual technological potential. A key question is whether the proposed ZPF-matter interactions generating the phenomenon of mass might involve one or more resonances. This is presently under investigation.

A Vacuum - Generated Inertia Reaction Force

A clear and succinct covariant approach shows that, in principle, there must be a contribution to the inertia reaction force on an accelerated object by the surrounding vacuum electromagnetic field in which the object is embedded. No details of the vacuum to object electromagnetic interaction need to be specified other than the fact that the object is made of electromagnetically interacting particles. Some interesting consequences of this feature are discussed. This analysis strongly supports the concept that inertia is indeed an opposition of the vacuum fields to any attempt to change the uniform state of motion of material bodies. This also definitely shows that inertia should be viewed as extrinsic to mass and that causing agents and/or mechanisms responsible for the inertia reaction force are neither intrinsic to the notion of mass nor to the entities responsible for the existence of mass in elementary particles (as, e.g., the Higgs field). In other words the mechanism that produces the inertia-reacti...

Progress in establishing a connection between the electromagnetic zero point field and inertia

We report on the progress of a NASA-funded study being carried out at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto and the California State University in Long Beach to investigate the proposed link between the zero-point field of the quantum vacuum and inertia. It is well known that an accelerating observer will experience a bath of radiation resulting from the quantum vacuum which mimics that of a heat bath, the so-called Davies-Unruh effect. We have further analyzed this problem of an accelerated object moving through the vacuum and have shown that the zero-point field will yield a non-zero Poynting vector to an accelerating observer. Scattering of this radiation by the quarks and electrons constituting matter would result in an acceleration-dependent reaction force that would appear to be the origin of inertia of matter (Rueda and Haisch 1998a, 1998b). In the subrelativistic case this inertia reaction force is exactly newtonian and in the relativistic case it exactly reproduces the well ...

The Case for inertia as a vacuum effect: A Reply to Woodward and Mahood

The possibility of an extrinsic origin for inertial reaction forces has recently seen increased attention in the physical literature. Among theories of extrinsic inertia, the two considered by the current work are (1) the hypothesis that inertia is a result of gravitational interactions and (2) the hypothesis that inertial reaction forces arise from the interaction of material particles with local fluctuations of the quantum vacuum. A recent article supporting the former and criticizing the latter is shown to contain substantial errors.

Electromagnetic zero point field as active energy source in the intergalactic medium

For over twenty years the possibility that the electromagnetic zero point field (ZPF) may actively accelerate electromagnetically interacting particles in regions of extremely low particle density (as those extant in intergalactic space (IGS) with n < 1 particle/m^3 has been studied and analyzed. This energizing phenomenon has been one of the few contenders for acceleration of cosmic rays (CR), particularly at ultrahigh energies. The recent finding by the AGASA collaboration (Phys. Rev. Lett., 81, 1163, 1998) that the CR energy spectrum does not display any signs of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cut-off (that should be present if these CR particles were indeed generated in localized ultrahigh energies CR sources, as e.g., quasars and other highly active galactic nuclei), may indicate the need for an acceleration mechanism that is distributed throughout IGS as is the case with the ZPF. Other unexplained phenomena that receive an explanation from this mechanism are the generation of X-ray and gamma-ray backgrounds and the existence of Cosmic Voids. However recently, a statistical mechanics kind of challenge to the classical (not the quantum) version of the zero-point acceleration mechanism has been posed (de la Pena and Cetto, The Quantum Dice, 1996). Here we briefly examine the consequences of this challenge and a prospective resolution.

An electromagnetic basis for inertia and gravitation: What are the implications for 21st century physics and technology?

The basis of most modern technology is the manipulation of electromagnetic phenomena. Haisch, Rueda and Puthofi (1994a) published a controversial but substantive formulation of a concept proposing an explanation of inertia of matter as an electromagnetic phenomenon originating in the zero-point fleld (ZPF) of the quantum vacuum. This suggests that Newton’s equation of motion can be derived from Maxwell’s equations of electrodynamics, in that inertial mass is postulated to be not an intrinsic property of matter but rather a kind of electromagnetic drag force (which temporarily is a place holder for a more general quantum vacuum reaction efiect) that proves to be acceleration dependent by virtue of the spectral characteristics of the ZPF. Moreover the principle of equivalence implies that in this view gravitation would also be electromagnetic in origin along the lines proposed by Sakharov (1968). A NASA-funded research efiort has been underway at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto and at California State University in Long Beach to develop and test these ideas. An efiort to generalize the 1994 ZPF-inertia concept into a proper relativistic formulation has been successful. With regard to the goals of the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program we can, on the basis of the ZPF-inertia concept, deflnitively rule out one speculatively hypothesized propulsion mechanism: matter possessing negative inertial mass, a concept originated by Bondi (1957). The existence of this is shown to be logically impossible. On the other hand, the linked ZPF-inertia and ZPF-gravity concepts open the conceptual possibility of manipulation of inertia and gravitation, since both are postulated to be electromagnetic phenomena. Whether this will translate into actual technological potential, especially with respect to spacecraft propulsion and future interstellar travel capability, is an open question. The (possibly comparable) time scale for translation of Einstein’s E = mc 2 mass-energy relation into nuclear technology was approximately four decades. A key question is whether the proposed ZPF-matter interactions generating the phenomenon of mass might involve one or more resonances. This is presently under investigation.

Geometrodynamics, Inertia and the Quantum Vacuum

Bernard HaischCalifornia Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, 366 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 Associate Fellow, AIAA — haisch@calphysics.orgAlfonso RuedaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, ECS BuildingCalifornia State University, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, California 90840arueda@csulb.edu(Presented at the AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Salt Lake City, July 8–11, 2001)ABSTRACTWhy does F equal ma in Newton’s equation of motion? How does a gravitational field produce a force?Why areinertial mass and gravitationalmass the same? It appears that all three ofthese seemingly axiomaticfoundational questions have an answer involving an identical physical process: interaction between theelectromagnetic quantum vacuum and the fundamental charged particles (quarks and electrons) constitutingmatter. All three of these effects and equalities can be traced back to the appearance of a specific asymmetryin the otherwise uniform and isotropic electromagnetic quantum vacuum. This asymmetry gives rise to anon-zero Poynting vector from the perspective of an accelerating object. We call the resulting energy-momentum flux the Rindler flux. The key insight is that the asymmetry in an accelerating reference framein flat spacetime is identical to that in a stationary reference frame (one that is not falling) in curvedspacetime. Therefore the same Rindler flux that creates inertial reaction forces also creates weight. Allof this is consistent with the conceptualizaton and formalism of general relativity. What this view addsto physics is insight into a specific physical process creating identical inertial and gravitational forces fromwhich springs the weak principle of equivalence. What this view hints at in terms of advanced propulsiontechnology is the possibility that by locally modifying either the electromagnetic quantum vacuum and/orits interaction with matter, inertial and gravitational forces could be modified.INTRODUCTIONWhy does F equal ma in Newton’s equation of motion, F= ma?How does a gravitational field produce a force?Why are inertial mass and gravitational mass the same?These are questions that are usually thought to be more appropriate for philosophers than for physicists,since the apparent facts of nature addressed in these questions are generally regarded as axiomatic.[1] If oneassumes that one plus one equals two, plus a limited number of additional axioms, one can develop a self-consistent system of mathematics, but one has to start with such assumptions. In the realm of geometry,the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry in the 19th century taught us that other, non-intuitive assumptionsare possible, and indeed, Riemannian geometry became the basis for physics in Einstein’s general relativity(GR). Alternate foundational assumptions can lead to new insights.Since 1991 we have been engaged in investigations involving the nature of inertia based on the founda-tional assumption that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, also called the zero-point field or zero-point1