Anyone attempting to argue the Special Theory of Relativity needs to understand the basics of how light travels, and how we perceive it.
Einstein wrote that the speed of light does not depend on the speed of the object emitting the light. To prove this, Einstein referred to De Sitter’s observation of the binary stars, which are two stars that are orbiting each other. De Sitter concluded that if the speed of light were dependant on the speed of the star, then the light emitted from the star as it is traveling towards us would eventually catch up to the light that was emitted from the same star when it was traveling away from us.
That logic is incorrect since relative to the binary stars, they are not moving and we are orbiting the binary stars. By viewing the stars as motionless, it becomes clear that while we orbit the binary stars, we are running into the light of one star as we are running away from the light from the other star. Relative to the binary stars, their light is not approaching us at different speeds; we are approaching the light at different speeds. This proves that the speed of light can be based off the speed of the star without disturbing our perceptual view of the orbits.
Maxwell stated that all types of light would have a frequency that is inversely proportionate to its wavelength. Einstein believed that an increase in frequency caused by traveling towards the light source would cause an inversely proportionate change in the wavelength. What Maxwell meant was that since all types of light travel from the source at the same speed, than while at rest relative to the source, any light with a high frequency will have a short wavelength, and any light with a low frequency will have a long wavelength since multiplying them together must equal the speed of light. He did not mean that a perceptual change in frequency caused by the observer’s speed would change the wavelength.
The wavelength of light is not a relative measurement; it is the distance that the light has to travel away from the source in order to complete one wave. That distance is not determined by the observer’s speed, it is the same for all observers traveling at any speed or direction. The frequency of light is a relative measurement; it is the number of wavelengths the observer passes in one second. This number is determined by the speed of the observation and will be different between observers traveling at different speeds relative to the source. The wavelength of light is unaffected by the observers speed, any measured change in wavelength is an error that is caused by not including the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source. When calculating the wavelength, the distance that the light travels from the source in one second must be added to the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source in one second, and then divided by the measured frequency. If the distance the observer has traveled is not included, then the relative speed will never change since the total distance traveled would only include the distance the light has traveled.
In order to accurately measure the relative speed between two objects, the distance traveled by both objects in the same amount of time must be included. Interferometers and oscilloscopes only account for the distance that the light has traveled, both need to be adjusted to include the distance traveled by the observer relative to the source. An observer using an interferometer moves a mirror a specific amount of distance while counting the number of changes in the pattern of interference fringes. When used to measure wavelengths while in motion relative to the light source, the scale used to measure the distance that the mirror has moved must be adjusted to include the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source. If the observer is traveling towards the source, the same amount of movement of the mirror will represent a larger distance since it now includes the distance the observer has traveled. If the observer’s distance is not included, any increase in frequency caused by the observer’s speed will appear to decrease the wavelength causing the speed to remain unchanged.
Traveling towards the source will increase the number of waves displayed on the screen of an oscilloscope. Displaying more waves in the same amount of space means the length of each wave displayed on the screen will be reduced. This does not mean that traveling towards the source will reduce the actual length of the waves. The oscilloscope shows the waves closer together because the total distance that the screen represents has been increased to include the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source. Traveling towards the source causes the oscilloscope to use a smaller amount of the screen to represent the same amount of distance. If the distance is not included, any increase in frequency caused by the observer’s speed will appear to decrease the wavelength causing the speed to remain unchanged. While at rest relative to the source, a one second screen of an oscilloscope will represent 186,000 miles. If the oscilloscope is traveling 1,000 miles per second towards the source, then the screen of the oscilloscope must represent 187,000 miles.
Traveling towards the light does not change the distance that the light has to travel to complete one wave, just as traveling towards an oncoming train does not reduce the length of the boxcars. Traveling towards the train will increase the number of boxcars that are passed and it will increase the relative speed between the observer and the train, but it will not change the length of the boxcars. If the observer plotted the number of boxcars that passed in one minute on a four-inch line, and then did the same thing after increasing speed towards the train, the second experiment would have more marks on the four-inch line and they would be closer together. This does not mean the length of the boxcars have gotten shorter, it means that the four-inch line represents a greater distance while traveling towards the source than it does when not moving relative to the source.
The increase in measured frequency caused by the observer’s speed is equal to the distance the observer has traveled (in one-second) towards the source, divided by the known wavelength. When calculating the wavelength using the measured frequency, it must be divided into the sum of “the distance light has traveled away from the source in one second” plus “the distance the observer has traveled towards the source in one second”. When measuring the wavelength, the scale of the tool used to measure the length must account for the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source. While in motion relative to the source, the wavelength or frequency will always be divided into a number that is greater than or less than 186,000 miles, but never equal to 186,000 miles. The frequency multiplied by the wavelength must equal the sum of “the distance that the observer has traveled relative to the source in one second” plus “the distance the light has traveled relative to the source in one second”.
The speed of light is not constant to all observers, and it is not the universal speed limit. Traveling at relativistic speeds will not alter time, lengths, or mass. The Doppler effect is not a stretching or compressing of the wavelengths; it is an increase or decrease in frequency and relative speed. The only way the speed of light can be measured constant between observers traveling at different speeds is to measure a change in the length of the wave. The only way to measure a change in wavelength caused by the observer’s speed is by not including the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source. If the distance the observer has traveled is not included when measuring the speed of the train, then the speed of the train will never change. If the distance the observer has traveled is not included when measuring the speed of the light, then the speed of the light will never change. The Special Theory of Relativity is interesting, but incorrect.
In my opinion, Einstein created the Special Theory of Relativity because he misunderstood the following facts. Frequency and wavelength are only inversely proportionate when measured at rest relative to the source. When measuring the relative speed of light, the distance the observer has traveled relative to the source must be included with the distance that the light has traveled away from the source in the same amount of time. Light travels at about 186,000 miles per second relative to the source. Relative to the orbiting binary stars, we are circling them and are running into the light at different speeds (actually different distances), which explains why we don’t see multiple images of the same star. The wavelength, or the distance light travels away from the source in order to complete one cycle, is not a relative measurement and it cannot be altered by changing speed or direction. Traveling past a wavelength at a faster rate does not mean the light has traveled a shorter distance from the source to complete one cycle. Changing speed relative to the source can only change the number of wavelengths passed and the relative speed of light, not the distance the light has traveled relative to the source. It is not the speed of light that remains constant it’s the wavelength.
