Dewey B Larson
Dewey B. Larson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 1, 1898 McCanna, North Dakota, United States |
| Died | May 25, 1990 |
| Residence | Salt Lake City, UT, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Oregon Agricultural College (Oregon State University) |
| Known for | Unification, Reciprocal System of Theory, Motion as the sole constituent of the universe |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering, Theoretical physics |
Dewey Bernard Larson (November 1, 1898 – May 25, 1990) was an American engineer and independent theoretician, best known as the originator of the Reciprocal System of Theory — a comprehensive theoretical framework that attempts to explain all physical phenomena, from subatomic particles to clusters of galaxies, from a single set of postulates. In this general physical theory, space and time are not a container in which events happen but are simply the two reciprocal aspects of the sole constituent of the universe: motion.
A chemical/mining engineer by training and profession, Larson developed his theory entirely outside the academic physics community over some three decades of private research. He first presented it in The Structure of the Physical Universe (1959) and elaborated it in a series of later volumes. In these works he also set out detailed critiques of the mainstream physics of his day, including relativity, quantum mechanics and the nuclear model of the atom.
Biography
Early life and education
Dewey B. Larson was born on November 1, 1898, in McCanna, North Dakota. His grandparents had emigrated from Norway, settling in North Dakota and Minnesota. As a child he moved west when his father, a merchant, relocated the family in search of better opportunities, first to Idaho and eventually to Oregon.
Larson attended high school for two years in Idaho, followed by a gap of several years, before completing his secondary education in Wilsonville, Oregon. He then enrolled at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University), graduating in 1922. He chose to major in mining engineering because it grouped most of the subjects that interested him and could be completed in three years, which he achieved by negotiating credit for freshman mathematics and, with the dean's approval, designing much of his own curriculum. Among his classmates in the engineering school was the future two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, with whom he is reported to have shared a senior class honor.
Engineering career
In the fall of 1922, Larson began working for a gas utility company in Portland, Oregon (a predecessor of today's Northwest Natural Gas). He started with surveying work but soon moved into administrative and technical roles, remaining with the company through the Great Depression and eventually rising to the position of Chief Engineer. The company's involvement in chemical manufacturing, and its consulting relationships with Oregon State faculty, exposed him to a range of practical research problems in the physical properties of materials.
Independent research
Beginning in the late 1920s, and influenced by the writings of the Australian-born philosopher Samuel Alexander among others, Larson pursued theoretical research on his own time. His initial goal was practical: to find a way to calculate the physical properties of chemical substances — in particular the inter-atomic distances of the solid elements — from first principles, rather than from empirical measurement. He came to believe that many outstanding problems required "changing the view of the problem" rather than simply applying more sophisticated mathematics.
According to his own later account, the decisive insight came around 1950 while he was driving to Corvallis, when he realized that his empirical equation for inter-atomic distances could be understood as "the integral of a reciprocal relation" between space and time. This suggested a single, universal reciprocal relationship underlying physical phenomena, and appeared to open up solutions to several long-standing problems at once. Unable to secure a commercial publisher, Larson self-published his first exposition of the theory, The Structure of the Physical Universe, in 1959, reportedly including only about half of the material he had prepared because of the cost.
Larson died on May 25, 1990.
The Reciprocal System of Theory
The Reciprocal System of Theory is founded on the premise that the sole constituent of the physical universe is motion, and that space and time are merely the two reciprocal aspects of that motion — neither existing independently of the other. From two fundamental postulates concerning the properties of space and time, Larson sought to deduce, as logical consequences, the existence and behavior of matter, radiation, electric and magnetic phenomena, gravitation, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos, extending from sub-atomic particles up to quasars and galaxies.
A distinctive feature of the system is the treatment of time as three-dimensional, symmetric with the three dimensions of space, so that each dimension of space is paired with a dimension of time as a ratio (a "speed" or "motion"). From this Larson developed a scalar-motion description of the universe that he presented as an alternative to the space-time framework of relativity and to the prevailing models of atomic and nuclear structure. Alongside the constructive parts of the theory, his books contain extended critical analyses of relativity, quantum mechanics, and the nuclear model of the atom.
The Reciprocal System has been developed and promoted primarily outside the mainstream physics community, and its claims are not accepted within conventional physics. It has, however, attracted a dedicated body of followers who have continued to extend and apply it.
International Society of Unified Science
To advance and disseminate the Reciprocal System, Larson and his supporters were associated with the International Society of Unified Science (ISUS), a membership organization whose primary objective is to promote the Reciprocal System of physical theory as proposed by Larson. The society (also operating in connection with the Reciprocal System Research Society) has published journals and conference proceedings and continues to maintain archives of Larson's writings and lectures.
Books
- 1988 - "Basic Properties of Matter" — a detailed treatment of the properties of matter within the Reciprocal System
- 1984 - "The Universe of Motion" — application of the theory to astronomy and cosmology (galaxies, quasars, cosmic phenomena)
- 1981 - "The Neglected Facts of Science"
- 1979 - "Nothing But Motion" — the first, revised volume of his mature Structure of the Physical Universe series (Read in full)
- 1971 - "Quasars and Pulsars"
- 1965 / 1977 - "New Light on Space and Time" (Read in full)
- 1964 - "Beyond Newton" (Read in full)
- 1963 - "The Case Against the Nuclear Atom" (Read in full)
- 1959 - "The Structure of the Physical Universe" — his first book and the original statement of the Reciprocal System
Larson also wrote on economics and metaphysics, extending his reciprocal approach beyond the physical sciences.
Media
- 1984 - An Interview with Dewey B. Larson (Audio Interview)
- 1984 - An Interview with Dewey B. Larson (Audio Interview)
- 1978 - New Science Advocates 3rd Annual Conference--Question and Answer session (Video Lecture)
External links
- Dewey B. Larson biography at reciprocalsystem.org (International Society of Unified Science)
- An Interview with Dewey B. Larson (1984, Salt Lake City) — autobiographical account of the origin of his discoveries
- Dewey B. Larson at the Larson Research Center