Science and Technology -Net Catalogue

By Mike Strauss

In 1905, Albert Einstein published ‘On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies’ now known as Special Relativity; this theory revolutionized geometry, math, physics, science and the classical perspective of the universe as understood since Newton’s time.  However, were there intrinsic errors in this theory?

Is Albert Einstein’s Special Relativity incompatible with the very equations upon which science’s greatest theory is built?  New observations made by many scientists and engineers appear to contradict the great German scientist’s ideas.  Apparently there are implicit contradictions present within Relativity’s foundational ideas, documents and equations.  One individual has even pointed that quotations from the 1905 document and Einstein’s contemporaries as well as interpretations of the Relativity equations clearly and concisely describe a confused and obviously erroneous theory.  It is time therefore, for science to update its thinking on this theory with a comprehensive analysis of the history leading up to, during and after that revolutionary year of Special Relativity.

As this is the 100 year anniversary of the original release of Special Relativity, a review of the original assumptions, documents and ideas which led to the acceptance of this theory is timely and warranted.  Every year millions of students are taught this theory without a critical analysis of Relativity.  Relativity Theory consists of its two variants Special Relativity and General Relativity and is considered the cornerstone of modern physics.

Albert Einstein borrowed from the ideas of Fitzgerald, Lorentz and Voigt to create a new concept of the universe.  His first work in this regard later came to be known as Special Relativity and contained many controversial ideas which today are considered axiomatic.  Amongst these are Length Contraction, Time Dilation, the Twin Paradox and the equivalence of mass and energy summarized in the equation E=mc2.

This equation became the shining capstone of the new theory along with its first & second postulates, namely, that the laws of nature are the same from all perspectives and that the speed of light ‘c’ is constant in a vacuum regardless of perspective.  Further, the theory also predicted an increase in mass with velocity.  Numerous examples have been given of the ‘proof’ of the validity of Special Relativity.

Most notably, experiments using particle accelerators have sped particles to incredible velocities which apparently provide confirmation of Einstein’s theory.  However, doubts remain in the scientific community who have never totally given up the comfort of a Newtonian world view.  This is readily apparent in that they refer to the Newton’s ‘Law’ of Gravitation whilst Special Relativity (SR) and General Relativity (GR) are given the polite attribution ‘The Theory of’ or simply SR ‘theory’ and GR ‘theory.’  Einstein would continue working on the ideas of Special Relativity until producing the aforementioned even more controversial treatise.

In his later more comprehensive work called the Theory of General Relativity (1916), Einstein proposed a major re-thinking of cosmology.  He conceived of a space time continuum that is curved by mass; in other words, planets, stars, galaxies and other stellar objects cause a curvature of space time.  The movement of these objects are determined by the aforementioned curvature.

As a result of these ideas, our understanding of geometry, math, physics, science and the universe would never be the same.  However, some scientists are reporting that speed of light is not constant from different experimental observations.  One has even reported errors in the fundamental equations.  If so, this would require a major rethinking of the known cosmological models and assumptions of modern physics.

Michael Strauss is an engineer who has an interest in this subject matter. To contact the author visit:  www.relativitycollapse.com

Mike Strauss

Michael Strauss is an engineer who has an interest in this subject matter. To contact the author visit: a href”http://www.relativitycollapse.com”www.relativitycollapse.com/a or a href”http://www.relativitycollapse.net”www.relativitycollapse.net/a

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By Verena Veneeva

The various aspects of social psychology could be examined within the wide concepts of intelligence, gender, advertising, consumer culture, stress and psychological issues that define society. Considering consumer behaviour, social psychology uses convincing theories to explain addictive consumption, the influence of advertising and the phenomenon of purchasing. Advertising is seen as a subtle psychological manipulation as it creates desires and anxiety in the potential consumers (Papers4you.com, 2006). Advertising can have both psychological and commercial aspects including misattribution, bias, suggestibility, and could be studied from global or local perspectives. Organisational consumption is seen as different from individual consumption although generic psychological theories of human motivation such as that of Maslow and Freud can explain consumer behaviour. However consumer behaviour can also be studied in terms of the notion of quality and its relation to customer satisfaction (Silva et al, 2005). The objective measures of customer needs, pricing and expectations of the customers may have to be analysed within Service Quality or Expectations models. Hogg and Garrow (2003) highlighted on the psychological aspects of gender and the influence on consumption of advertising. Advertising has been found to be processed and interpreted differently according to gender schemas and perceptions. This would in turn relate to psychological theories of gender such as the theory of biological determinism, Freudian theory of personality development, cognitive-developmental theory, and feminist theories. Bridging the gap between gender studies and gender differences in consumption could provide us with new insights on social and psychological aspects of consumer behavior. Orth (2005) indicated that consumer behaviour largely depends on consumer personality and susceptibility to interpersonal influence, consumer situational disposition such as risk taking and curiosity, purchasing behaviour and purchasing frequency and demographic variables such as age and gender. Contemporary consumer culture could be studied in relation to an excessive emphasis on beauty and appearance and an obsession with youth, a phenomenon that has seen an increased dependence on cosmetic surgery. The increased importance of the body in the consumer culture could be studied along with the significance of appearance in modern society, the role of marketing and advertising images, and the psychological need for self-expression (Papers4you.com, 2006).

Social psychology is however focused not just on consumption and public attitudes on advertising, but also on group behaviour, general individual and collective attitudes towards various social issues including war, work, violence and quality of life. This would in turn explain how individuals deal with stress, and focus on the psychological consequences of stress. Although psychological disorders may in some cases be a direct result of social stress, deviant behaviour in society could be explained with the help of several theories such as the theory of subcultures by Parker, the structural strain theory by Merton, or the theory of conformity. Social psychology is thus focused on explaining a wide range of issues from advertising and consumer behavior to public attitudes on social issues and antisocial behaviour.

Bibliography

Hogg M.K.; Garrow J. (2003) Gender, identity and the consumption of advertising Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 6, Number 3, June, pp. 160-174(15)

Orth, Ulrich R.(2005) Consumer personality and other factors in situational brand choice variation The Journal of Brand Management, Volume 13, Number 2, November, pp. 115-133(19)

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/510. Advertising: means of psychological manipulation”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtpsy3.htm 22/06/2006

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/646. Causes of addictive consumption in modern society”, Available from <a href=”http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtpsy3.htm”>Papers4you.com</a> 21/06/2006

Silva Jr, Nelson da; Lírio, Daniel Rodrigues (2005) The postmodern re-codification of perversion: On the production of consumer behavior and its libidinal grammar International Forum of Psychoanalysis, Volume 14, Numbers 3-4, Number 3-4/December, pp. 217-223(7)

Verena Veneeva

Copyright © 2006 Verena Veneeva. Professional Writer working for http://www.coursework4you.co.uk

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