The Constant Gravitation Potential of Light and Energy
| Scientific Paper | |
|---|---|
| Title | The Constant Gravitation Potential of Light and Energy |
| Author(s) | Robert J Heaston, Peter Marquardt |
| Keywords | light, mass, gravity |
| Published | 2009 |
| Journal | None |
Abstract
Light has a hitherto unnoticed property. Einstein said that light has mass. If light has mass, then it must also have a gravitation potential. We suggest that is the constant gravitation potential of light and energy, which we call the c-square potential. A sample of the arguments used to justify this suggestion include the following: the c-square potential is consistent with the bending of light in a gravitational field, is the largest possible gravitation potential, is familiar from the definition of spacetime, constitutes the space-filling gravitational field far away from masses (limiting case of a ?matterless universe?), and has been overlooked because of the use of geometrized units. If the c-square potential is valid, then the Einstein field equations have something quite new to offer for the 21st century.
The abstract below is the overture to a joint paper which was to be Bob Heaston's latest publication on a subject that he shared with me during the past years. It became Bob's last paper. He was kind enough to take me aboard as co-author. In memory of Bob, a brilliant fellow scientist with varied interests and a good fried, I discuss the history and intention of the paper, its principal idea, and the reply from the editor of Annalen der Physik.
