Old Physics for New: a worldview alternative to Einstein's relativity theory [Paperback]

Thomas E. Phipps Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0973291141 | ISBN-13: 978-0973291148 | Edition: First Edition

From the author of Heretical Verities, a study more sharply focused on the sins of relativity theory. Where physicists see transcendent beauty, Phipps finds institutionalized ugliness. Where field theorists have eyes only for the glitter of Maxwell and Einstein, he commends the subtler attractions of the Cinderella of modern electromagnetic theory, Heinrich Hertz.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

educated at Harvard, AB (1945), MS (1948), PhD (1951). His doctorate was in nuclear physics for thesis work under Norman Ramsey. In 1945-46 he joined the wartime Operations Research Group of the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. In later years he was employed by Navy laboratories in research and administrative capacities. On retirement in 1980, he returned to physics and undertook both theoretical studies and various small-scale experiments described in his book Heretical Verities. He is a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa, and a past member of the Operations Research Society of America and the American Physical Society. He has about 40 publications in established (refereed) physics journals and more than twice that number in dissident physics journals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: C. Roy Keys Inc.; First Edition edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973291141
• ISBN-13: 978-0973291148
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another relativity slam., April 30, 2007

By 

Richard Hull (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Physics for New: a worldview alternative to Einstein's relativity theory (Paperback)

Phipps has the good fortune to actually have been a practicing Phd physicist. Having been forced into the mold of lock step physics, he has, upon retirement, let loose pent up frustrations that must have festered over time.

Fortunately for us, he is a master at the use of the language and this artifice allows a rather uncharacteristic eloquence to his verbage that would attract any reader in search of english written in a form that is all but dormant. The book would be a pleasurable read from this point alone were it not for the pressing need to have things put aright by the author in the areas of physics not so deeply trodden in our modern age.

Phipps doesn't attack relativity directly, as so many do in a rabid fashion of late, but does us the honor of showing how much of its "bed rock", Maxwellian electrodynamics, was allowed to lead physics off track. This bed rock did not get fully corrected by the time Einstein did his work. Phipps gives us a much needed history lesson which is so often overlooked in modern science. He shows errors in many works, and later attempted corrections that ultimately went begging or that complicated, needlessly, issues that might have been handled in a wiser, more direct fashion.

He does not let words alone speak for physics, but involves us in the mathematics to a level that only those deeply involved might follow to full advantge. Yet as an electrical engineer, I perservered and gained real insights to work that normally is left to higher level physicists.

Phipps takes a delightful relish in pointing out issues that are just not right on the path to modern accepted relativistic physics. The reader will love his powerful use of the language in finger pointing and following up on faux pas on the part of his fellow physicists.

The book is a must read for those willing to think a bit deeper and allow a physicist to reveal that the veil of physics is a bit tattered and shop worn and, to its detriment,loaded with all manner of operable but poorly conceived patchwork attempts.

A real eye opener, regardless of your thoughts on the matter in the end.

Intellectually stimulating, eloquent, humorous in places, and very thought provoking.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Crisp, Intelligent Delight, January 29, 2008

By 

R. Mohan "Ross Mohan" (Washington, DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Physics for New: a worldview alternative to Einstein's relativity theory (Paperback)

Phipps has done great work here. Set aside, for a moment, what you may think of consensus science
versus 'fringe' work. Set aside, too, your beliefs about the verities of Relativity, Maxwell's
equations, and the like. This book is important because it's written as a conversation between the
reader and a very bright and passionate man, a man who knows physics well, mathematics well, and
history very well. I learned things here that were never even hinted at in 4 years of education in
physics. Even the revealed history here is worth the price of admission.

OK, pick up your beliefs about consensus science and relativity now. Worst case: you buy this
book, find fault with it, and use it in your classroom to exercise the students' minds. It will
certainly do that, regardless of the stance of the author!.

I recommend this book enthusiastically for teachers, science historians, science buffs, and very,
very especially, current physics students (sophomore level, who have taken at least a year of
statics/dynamics, a year of EM, a year of quantum, and a semester or two of relativity theory.)

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dissident Physics at its Best, December 20, 2006

By 

Bruce Warring (Nellysford, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Physics for New: a worldview alternative to Einstein's relativity theory (Paperback)

For those who are interested in views contrary to Einstein's theories of relativity, this book is a "MUST-HAVE." Phipps is without a doubt the most entertaining writer who disagrees with Einstein and his followers. Phipps appears to be someone who really and truly understands what he is talking about.

If your special interest is the topic of "time," you simply must read this book.

Highly recommended.

If you are a die-hard Einsteinian, why not read the book and then post your critical review here for people like me? I would love to see what the official response is to ideas like these.