S Richard Hazelett
S. Richard Hazelett | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1923 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Died | July 23, 2002 Colchester, Vermont, United States |
| Residence | Colchester, VT, United States |
| Nationality | USA |
| Known for | Relativity |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mechanical Engineer |
Samuel Richard "Dick" Hazelett (July 24, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and businessman in the metals-machining industry, and a critic of Albert Einstein's theory of Relativity. He is best known as co-editor, with Dean Turner, of the book The Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers: A Counter-Revolution in Physics (1979), which revived the earlier relativity criticism of the physicist Herbert Eugene Ives. Hazelett was a dedicated member of the Natural Philosophy Alliance and a frequent contributor to the journal Galilean Electrodynamics.
Biography
Hazelett was born in Cleveland, Ohio. A lifelong student of theology and philosophy as well as an engineer, he was an extraordinarily fast and prolific reader. He received his BA from Oberlin College in 1965 and later earned two master's degrees in philosophy, one from the University of Texas at Austin (1969) and one from Boston University (1973). In his final years he made Berkeley, California, a second home in order to pursue doctoral-level theology studies at the Graduate Theological Union, enrolling for graduate work through the Jesuit School of Theology, where he became a well-known figure in the campus community, often seen riding his recumbent bicycle. Born into a Mormon family, he later in life converted to Judaism.
Hazelett worked with his father in the early development of the Hazelett twin-belt continuous metal casting machine, and for many years was involved in the mechanical-design and intellectual-property activities of the Hazelett Strip-Casting Corporation of Colchester, Vermont. He is a named inventor on eleven patents. He was also a keen amateur photographer who documented the life of the company.
He died on July 23, 2002, at his home in Colchester, Vermont, shortly after attending the 9th Annual Meeting of the Natural Philosophy Alliance at San Luis Obispo, California (May 13–17, 2002).
Scientific contributions
Hazelett was engaged by the many controversial questions surrounding Einstein's theory of relativity. Working with his longtime friend and collaborator Dean Turner, he co-edited The Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers: A Counter-Revolution in Physics (1979), a compilation intended to bring renewed attention to the relativity criticism of Herbert Eugene Ives, a pioneer of RCA television research whose critical papers had appeared in peer-reviewed journals but had subsequently been largely set aside by the physics community. The volume gathered excerpts from Ives's correspondence, Turner's essay "The Einstein Myth," a condensation of J. J. Callahan's Euclid or Einstein, and additional papers and commentary.
Through Galilean Electrodynamics and the conferences of the Natural Philosophy Alliance, Hazelett contributed a series of papers examining special relativity, aether theories, quantum non-locality, and the philosophical implications of relativity for questions such as freedom of the will. His interests also extended to the intersection of science and religion, reflected in books co-authored or researched with Turner, including Benevolent Living, Commitment to Care, Escape from God, and Coherence Theory of Truth. A final book, An Engineer's Path to God, was left unfinished at his death.
Abstracts
- 2002 - "Is Quantum Nonlocality for Real?"
- 2000 - "Speculation on Theology and Quantum Non-Locality"
- 1998 - "Special Relativity: The Experiments Equally Support Various Aether Theories"
- 1997 - "Does Einsteinian Relativity Negate Freedom of Will?"
- 1997 - "Does Relativity Theory Explain Too Much?"
- 1984 - "Space and the So-Called Parallel Axiom"
- 1980 - "Review of "Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers""
Books
- 1977; Revised 2005 - "The Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers: A Counter-Revolution in Physics" (Read in full)
- 1990 - "Benevolent Living: Tracing the Roots of Motivation to God", Hope Publishing House (Amazon)