Physicists and technicians generally accept the existence and significance of gravitational potential gradients while the gravitational potential by itself is regarded meaningless as it apparently does not have any obvious effect such as forces.
Ernst Mach (1838-1916), in fact, has pointed to the possible effect of remote masses on local physical phenomena, in particular, inertial forces.
In 1963 James C. Keith devised a high speed rotor experiment which he expected would show some specific drag of highly accelerated atomic nuclei due to retarded gravitational interaction with external masses. The Keith theory seems to be supported by laboratory experiments.
It appears remarkable that the famous Einstein formula, E = mc2, directly follows from the cumulated gravitational potential Φg = c2 = 2GMu/Ru of all masses Mu of the visible universe by multiplying with m. Please note that no relativity theory is required for that.
Einstein (1911) has shown that light deflection close to heavy masses is easily explained by local decrease of gravitational potential and speed of light indicating that c is not a natural constant but rather depends on local gravitational potential, ie not gradient thereof.
On the basis of ℏω = mc2 the proton radius and magnetic moment have been derived within reasonable limits.
I think it would be worthwhile to reconsider the above mentioned proposals and findings, in particular, when searching for a unified view of physical phenomena at universal and nuclear scales.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_the_universal_gravitational_potential_determine_the_dimension_of_elementary_particles
@ Preston Guynn
Does any of your articles consider the existence and possible local effects of long range gravitational potential?
The idea that the universal gravitational potential could play a fundamental role in physics challenges conventional thinking about the nature of inertia, particle properties, and even the speed of light. Traditional physics focuses on gravitational forces caused by changes in potential (gradients), while the potential itself is often seen as a relative, meaningless value. However, alternative views inspired by Ernst Mach suggest that distant masses in the universe might influence local physical phenomena. This idea implies that inertia — an object's resistance to changes in motion — could be linked to the cumulative gravitational influence of all matter in the universe. If true, inertia might not be a purely local property but a consequence of the universe's overall mass distribution, hinting at a deeper connection between local and cosmic scales.
Experimental efforts, like those proposed by James C. Keith, aim to detect these effects directly. Keith's high-speed rotor experiment sought to measure the drag on accelerated atomic nuclei due to delayed gravitational interaction with distant masses. This concept is reminiscent of frame-dragging effects predicted by General Relativity, but it extends the idea to more general systems of accelerated matter. If such effects exist, they could reveal an unexpected "gravitational drag" that influences the motion of particles, particularly when they experience rapid accelerations. This notion opens the door to testing Mach's principle in the laboratory and investigating how the global arrangement of matter impacts local motion and inertia.
Beyond inertia, the possible role of universal gravitational potential in defining constants of nature is even more striking. Some researchers have noted that if we consider the cumulative gravitational potential of all the mass in the observable universe, it produces a value that curiously aligns with the speed of light squared, suggesting a potential link between cosmic gravity and the famous energy-mass equivalence equation, E=mc2E = mc^2. This raises profound questions about whether physical constants like the speed of light, Planck’s constant, and even the size of particles like protons are shaped by the universe's large-scale structure. If confirmed, this perspective could revolutionize our understanding of physics, offering a unified framework where quantum mechanics, relativity, and cosmology are deeply interconnected.
Rishabh Karthikeyan Hariharan
Thank you very much for your valuable comment! You have recognized and described the situation and possible consequences very accurately. Unfortunately, the Keith experiment - despite its obviously promising results - has not yet been repeated by anyone using modern methods. This is possibly much a reaction to the inaccurate rapid-fire commentary by two ambitious young theorists and corresponding journal referees.
Article Significant Deviation of Rotational Decay from Theory at a R...
Research A second look at experimental data suggesting gravity speed ...
M. Reinhardt, A. Rosenblum, "The nonexistence of a relativistic effect proposed by Keith", Lett. Nuovo Cimento 6, 189. (1973)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Mach%27s_principle, see "Experimental verification" section.
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