Take Nothing for Granted: Revisiting Principles of Modern Physics

Kudos：

https://www.growkudos.com/projects/take-nothing-for-granted-revisiting-principles-of-modern-physics

What is it about?

First proposed in the early 20th century, dark matter is the glue that holds the universe as we know it together. Though undetectable, dark matter represents approximately 85% of all matter, makes up 27% of the universe’s total mass-energy density, and accounts for gravitational effects that we couldn’t observe without it.

But what if it doesn’t actually exist? 

That’s the type of question Jian'an Wang, former Professor of Physics at Shenzhen University, spends most of his time thinking about. In his latest work, Prof. Wang challenges the idea that dark matter is the missing puzzle piece that binds the universe—and the study of the universe—together. 

Modern physics, for example, suggests that dark matter is what keeps stars clustered in galaxies rather than hurdling through space as predicted by Isaac Newton’s law of gravity. Wang, however, proposes that dark matter is a sign that our physics equations need updating. By modifying Newton’s formula to fit the principle of spatial energy field superposition, Wang concludes that the original equation seriously underestimates galaxies’ energy field intensity or their space-time curvature. 

The result of adjusting for this error: no dark matter in the universe and no supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxies, and the cause of the perihelion precession of Mercury is due to the property of the corrected gravity of the sun. 

Dark matter is only one assumption of modern physics that Wang is intent on revisiting. He also offers new explanations for: the principle of relativity, the principle of constancy of light velocity, uncertainty principle, Newton's first law, Mickelson-Morrey Experiment, the dynamic force source for planetary tectonic movements, the physical mechanism of earthquakes, the mysterious Tunguska explosion of 1908, the physical mechanism of the rockburst, the cause of ocean currents and atmospheric circulation, the cause of the Ice Age, the cause of the plague outbreak, and the Mpemba effect. 

Jian’an Wang received his bachelor’s degree in experimental nuclear physics in 1982 from the Department of Modern Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the China Institute of Atomic Energy, where he studied nuclear reactions of charged particles. In 1985, he was admitted to the Department of Physics at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, from which he received a master’s degree. He obtained a Ph.D. in 1996 from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for his research on laser luminescent materials. Wang entered the Department of Physics at Shenzhen University as an assistant professor in 1999 and retired in 2012. 

Why is it important?

Science relies on the accumulation of evidence to explain natural phenomena. Scientific theories, both old and new, require testing to affirm their validity. That scrutiny, and a good measure of curiosity, is what drives science forward. As Prof. Wang puts it, “there is no end to science…the spirit of science is to keep exploring.”