Papers by Alfonso Diaz Rueda
Solar Astrophysics Laboratory Dept. L9-41, Bldg. 252, Lockheed Martin 3251 Hanover St., Palo Alto, CA 94304
On Acceleration by Vacuum Effects in QED Radiation Field Boundary Conditions and the Problem of Cosmic Opacity
International Cosmic Ray Conference, 1987
Quantization of radiation as a consequence of classical postulates and zero-point fluctuations
Quantum properties of EM radiation are deduced in a straightforward manner with the aid of famili... more Quantum properties of EM radiation are deduced in a straightforward manner with the aid of familiar classical arguments and the postulate establishing the existence of fundamental fluctuations of temperature-invariant EM fields of fixed energy. The zero-point radiation is introduced via a Hamiltonian distribution of cavity modes according to Kolokolov and Skrotskii (1972). The EM field established in a cavity, energy emitted from the cavity, classical thermodynamic fluctuations and the classical Rayleigh-Jeans law, zero-point fluctuations as a random hypothesis, the entropy of radiation emitted from the cavity, and free energy of the i-th cavity mode are discussed.
For over twenty years the possibility that the electromagnetic zero point field (ZPF) may activel... more 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
A brief overview is presented of the basis of the electromagnetic zero-point field in quantum phy... more A brief overview is presented of the basis of the electromagnetic zero-point field in quantum physics and its representation in stochastic electrodynamics. Two approaches have led to the proposal that the inertia of matter may be explained as an electromagnetic reaction force. The first is based on the modeling of quarks and electrons as Planck oscillators and the method of
We present an approach to the origin of inertia involving the electromagnetic component of the qu... more We present an approach to the origin of inertia involving the electromagnetic component of the quantum vacuum and propose this as an alternative to Mach's principle. Preliminary analysis of the momentum flux of the classical 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
A NASA-funded research effort has been underway at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center... more 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 Newton's equation of motion can be derived from Maxwell's equations of electrodynamics as applied to the zero-point field (ZPF) of the quantum vacuum. In this ZPF-inertia
It has been shown [1,2] that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum makes a contribution to the inert... more It has been shown [1,2] that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum makes a contribution to the inertial mass, $m_i$, in the sense that at least part of the inertial force of opposition to acceleration, or inertia reaction force, springs from the electromagnetic quantum vacuum. As experienced in a Rindler constant acceleration frame the electromagnetic quantum vacuum mainfests an energy-momentum flux which we call the Rindler flux (RF). The RF, and its relative, Unruh-Davies radiation, both stem from event-horizon effects in accelerating reference frames. The force of radiation pressure produced by the RF proves to be proportional to the acceleration of the reference frame, which leads to the hypothesis that at least part of the inertia of an object should be due to the interaction of its quarks and electrons with the RF. We demonstrate that this quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis is consistent with general relativity (GR) and that it answers a fundamental question left open within GR, viz. is there a physical mechanism that generates the reaction force known as weight when a specific non-geodesic motion is imposed on an object? The quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis provides such a mechanism, since by assuming the Einstein principle of local Lorentz-invariance (LLI), we can immediately show that the same RF arises due to curved spacetime geometry as for acceleration in flat spactime. Thus the previously derived expression for the inertial mass contribution from the electromagnetic quantum vacuum field is exactly equal to the corresponding contribution to the gravitational mass, $m_g$. Therefore, within the electromagnetic quantum vacuum viewpoint proposed in [1,2], the Newtonian weak equivalence principle, $m_i=m_g$, ensues in a straightforward manner.
AIP Conference Proceedings, 1999
We report on the progress of a NASA-funded study being carried out at the Lockheed Martin Advance... more 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 19984 1998b). In the subrelativistic case this inertia reaction force is exactly newtonian and in the relativistic case it exactly reproduces the well known relativistic extension of Newton's Law. This analysis demonstrates then that both the ordinary, F = ti, and the relativistic forms of Newton's equation of motion may be derived from Maxwell's equations as applied to the electromagnetic zerepoint field. We expect to be able to extend this analysis in the future to more general versions of the quantum vacuum than lust the electromagnetic one discussed herein.
AIP Conference Proceedings, 1998
The basis of most modern technology is the manipulation of electromagnetic phenomena. Haisch, Rue... more The basis of most modern technology is the manipulation of electromagnetic phenomena. Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (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 field (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 effect) 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 . 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 these ideas. An effort 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, definitively rule out one speculatively hypothesized propulsion mechanism: matter possessing negative inertial mass, a concept originated by . 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.
Inertia and Gravitation as Vacuum Effects — the case for Passive Gravitational Mass
AIP Conference Proceedings, 2004
A vacuum—generated inertia reaction force
AIP Conference Proceedings, 2001
A clear and succinct covariant approach shows that, in principle, there must be a contribution to... more 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-reaction-force requires an explicit explanation. This explicit explanation is that inertia is an opposition of the vacuum fields to the accelerated motion of any material entities, i.e., of entities that possess mass. It is briefly commented why the existence of a Higgs field responsible for the generation of mass in elementary particles does not contradict the view presented here. It is also briefly discussed why a strict version of Mach's Principle does really contradict this view, though a broad sense version of Mach's Principle may be in agreement. .
Prospects for an Interstellar Mission: Hard Technology Limits but Surprising Physics Possibilities
How can we reach another star in a timely fashion? Extrapolating our best current technology into... more How can we reach another star in a timely fashion? Extrapolating our best current technology into the future is like trying to somehow soup-up Magellan's sailing ship to circumnavigate the globe in ninety minutes.
AIP Conference Proceedings, 2000
While still an admittedly remote possibility, the concept of an interstellar mission has become a... more While still an admittedly remote possibility, the concept of an interstellar mission has become a legitimate topic for scientific discussion as evidenced by several recent NASA activities and programs. One approach is to extrapolate present-day technologies by orders of magnitude; the other is to find new regimes in physics and to search for possible new laws of physics. Recent work on the zero-point field (ZPF), or electromagnetic quantum vacuum, is promising in regard to the latter, especially concerning the possibility that the inertia of matter may, at least in part, be attributed to interaction between the quarks and electrons in matter and the ZPF. A NASA-funded study (independent of the BPP program) of this concept has been underway since 1996 at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto and the California State University at Long Beach. We report on a new development resulting from this effort: that for the specific case of the electron, a resonance for the inertia-generating process at the Compton frequency would simultaneously explain both the inertial mass of the electron and the de Broglie wavelength of a moving electron as first measured by . This line of investigation is leading to very suggestive connections between electrodynamics, inertia, gravitation and the wave nature of matter.
Exploration of a Possible Cumulative Activn of the Zero-Point Field on Intergalactic Particles and Implications for Cosmic Rays and a X-Ray Background from the Intergalactic Medium
Il Nuovo Cimento C, 1983
It is argued that electrons either are not accelerated or are accelerated very little by the ZPF ... more It is argued that electrons either are not accelerated or are accelerated very little by the ZPF (zero-point field) because of zitterbewegung. Protons and nuclei are accelerated but the acceleration is reduced by the uncoupling between effects of the ZPF E and H fields, respectively, associated with the nearly relativistic forced oscillation of their internal components under the ZPF effect. In the very high vacuum of intergalactic space (IGS), cosmic expansion is by far the main dissipation mechanism, determining the shape of the spectrum of ZPF-accelerated particles in th IGS outside superclusters. In addition, it is argued that ZPF acceleration, if it exists, should energize the intergalactic medium (IGM); an X-ray and gamma-ray emitting IGM is expected, though there is no observational evidence for this.
O the Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics of Thermal - Fields
Thesis Cornell University 1973 Source Dissertation Abstracts International Volume 34 07 Section B Page 3404, 1973
Inertial Mass Viewed as Reaction of the Vacuum to Accelerated Motion
The Vacuum Electromagnetic Field and the Energetics of the Intergalctic Medium
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 1990
... This mechanism has been examined for the case of cosmic ray pri-maries acceleration (see, eg,... more ... This mechanism has been examined for the case of cosmic ray pri-maries acceleration (see, eg, Rueda 1989). REFERENCES Boldt, E. 1987, Phys. Rep.. 146, 216. Boyer, TH 1979, Phys. Rev., 20, 1246. Fabian, AC 1981, Ann. NY Acad. Science. 375, 235. ...
It has been proposed that the scattering of electromagnetic zero-point radiation by accelerating ... more It has been proposed that the scattering of electromagnetic zero-point radiation by accelerating objects results in a reaction force that may account, at least in part, for inertia [1,2,3]. This arises because of asymmetries in the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) or electromagnetic quantum vacuum as perceived from an accelerating reference frame. In such a frame, the Poynting vector and momentum flux of the ZPF become non-zero. If one assumes that scattering of the ZPF radiation takes place at the level of quarks and electrons constituting matter, then it is possible for both Newton's equation of motion, ${\bf f}=m{\bf a}$, and its relativistic covariant generalization, ${\cal F}=d{\cal P}/d\tau$, to be obtained as a consequence of the non-zero ZPF momentum flux. We now conjecture that this scattering must take place at the Compton frequency of a particle, and that this interpretation of mass leads directly to the de Broglie relation characterizing the wave nature of that particle in motion, $\lambda_B=h/p$. This suggests a perspective on a connection between electrodynamics and the quantum wave nature of matter. Attempts to extend this perspective to other aspects of the vacuum are left for future consideration.
This NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop seeks to explore concepts that could someday e... more This NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop seeks to explore concepts that could someday enable interstellar travel. The effective superluminal motion proposed by to be a possibility owing to theoretically allowed space-time metric distortions within general relativity has since been shown by to be physically unattainable. A number of other hypothetical possibilities have been summarized by . We present herein an overview of a concept that has implications for radically new propulsion possibilities and has a basis in theoretical physics: the hypothesis that the inertia and gravitation of matter originate in electromagetic interactions between the zero-point field (ZPF) and the quarks and electrons constituting atoms. A new derivation of the connection between the ZPF and inertia has been carried through that is properly co-variant, yielding the relativistic equation of motion from Maxwell's equations. This opens new possibilites, but also rules out the basis of one hypothetical propulsion mechanism: Bondi's "negative inertial mass," appears to be an impossibility.
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Papers by Alfonso Diaz Rueda