John August: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 16:31, 20 July 2026
John August | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 58–59) |
| Residence | Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University |
| Known for | Ritzian alternative to relativity (Walter Ritz) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
John August (born c. 1967) is an Australian physics graduate, broadcaster, community radio presenter and humanist activist who has taken an interest in the Ritzian emission-theory alternative to Einstein's special theory of relativity. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, he combines a background in physics with wide-ranging activity in science communication, economics, secularism and politics.
Biography
August obtained a degree in physics from Macquarie University in 1988. He subsequently trained as a patent attorney with the firm Spruson & Ferguson and worked for Cochlear, the Australian manufacturer of the bionic ear, as well as undertaking contract work in the Linux and information-technology sector.
Alongside his professional work, August has been active in a large number of community, scientific and civic organisations, including the Australian Public Network Access Association, the Australian Science Communicators, the Australian Space Research Institute and the Ryde District Historical Society. He has served as President and later Vice-President of the Humanist Society of New South Wales (NSW Humanists) and convenes the "Sydney Shove", a Sydney discussion group focused on politics and economics.
He has stood as a candidate in Australian federal elections, initially as a Senate candidate endorsed by the Secular Party of Australia, and later in association with the Pirate Party of Australia and the Fusion Party. His interests include economics, trade and globalisation, and he has expressed particular sympathy for the ideas of economist John Kenneth Galbraith. He has presented papers at conferences of the Society of Heterodox Economists.
Broadcasting and science communication
August is a long-standing community radio broadcaster. He has contributed to programs on 2SER and Radio Skid Row (2RSR) in Sydney, including the science program "Diffusion" and his own program "Roving Spotlight", on which he has discussed scientific topics such as meteors and public-health issues. He has also tutored in science and economics for the Workers' Educational Association.
Work
August's interest in physics centres on the Ritzian emission theory of light, an early alternative to Einstein's special theory of relativity. Emission (or "ballistic") theories, developed in particular by the Swiss physicist Walter Ritz (1878–1909) around 1908, propose that light is emitted at a constant speed relative to its source, rather than relative to a fixed medium or to all observers. August has publicly advocated examination of this Ritzian alternative to relativity, giving talks on the subject including one to members of the philosophy department at the University of Sydney and presentations at Humanist House in Sydney on Ritzian electrodynamics.
Media
- 2002 - The Ritzian Alternative to Relativity (Audio Podcast)
External links
- Permutations – John August's personal website and blog
- Humanist Society of New South Wales