Reciprocal System of Theory
The Reciprocal System of Theory (RST) is a non-standard cosmological theory. It is held by advocates to be a theoretical framework capable of comprehensively explaining all physical phenomena from subatomic particles to galactic clusters. The framework, based on the work of Dewey B. Larson, an American engineer and author, was originally described in his book The Structure of the Physical Universe in 1959 and has more recently been published in three revised and enlarged volumes. The ideas are promoted by the members of 'The International Society of Unified Science, Inc.' (ISUS) whose only stated objective is to "advance in all ways deemed feasible the Reciprocal System of physical theory as proposed by Dewey B. Larson".
The RST and the work of Larson is essentially unknown or ignored in the mainstream physics community, since it is completely at odds with relativity, quantum mechanics and the Big Bang and many other modern theories. It is generally dismissed by those physicists who are aware of it.
The RST states unequivocally that gravitational radiation, a requirement of general relativity, does not exist, and that gravity operates without any medium or continuum such as the four-dimensional (4D) curved-space of relativity, or any process of transmission between gravitating bodies. Although this is in accord with observations, it is at odds with existing indirect evidence for the existence of gravitational radiation, from binary neutron star measurements. General relativity (GR) predicts that, due to gravitational radiation, the orbit of such systems will decay at a specific rate. This decay is observed, and the rate is as predicted by general relativity, to an accuracy of 0.5%. Earthbound gravitational wave detectors, such as LIGO, VIRGO, LISA and others, may provide more direct evidence for the existence of gravitational radiation.
RST proponents also claim that it is consistent with recent observations that the geometry of the universe is flat (from the CMB data), and that the cosmological parameter, Omega, is precisely equal to one. These data are in conflict with traditional Big Bang cosmology, where Euclidean geometry would appear to be highly unlikely. The theory of cosmic inflation is the method accepted by most physicists for overcoming this apparent contradiction. RST has not been invoked by any mainstream physicist as an explanation for this problem.
According to proponents of the RST, the recent discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe is also good news for it. The observed acceleration is thought to be produced by a gravity-like repulsive force. Some think that this force, dubbed "dark energy," by Michael Turner of the University of Chicago, might be vacuum energy, represented by the "cosmological constant" (λ) in general relativity or possibly something called "Quintessence." While this new force is thought to be similar to gravity, and though it is in conflict with established theories, a similar outward scalar motion has been an integral part of the RST from the beginning, and is a component in the RST's calculations and explanations of both the large-scale structure of the universe and its atomic and molecular scale structure. It plays a fundamental role in the RST's explanation of the recession of galaxies, star formation, galaxy formation and the explosions of stars, without the need for the "Big Bang," or black holes to explain these processes. RST is not necessary, however, to explain this outward motion--Einstein himself proposed the cosmological constant soon after his proposal of the theory of relativity, and other mainstream scientists are exploring theories of expansion that have nothing to do with RST directly.
In Nothing But Motion, Larson makes theoretical predictions of the periodic order of the elements. He claims that his theory accurately derives the elements in correct order without employing the concepts of electrons and atomic nucleus, and predicts that the maximum number of elements in the periodic table is 117.
In Basic Properties of Matter, Larson makes theoretical predictions for a large number of properties of a range of chemical species, including atomic mass, interatomic distance, compressibility and heat capacity. It appears that he calculates these values from simple closed-form analytic formulas. If accurate, this would be a vast improvement on the complex calculations required to make theoretical predictions under quantum mechanics. However, in many cases Larson does not specify precisely which formula should be used, and the formulas used are sometimes changed from species to species with very little explanation. Also, Larson lists characteristic constants for the various species which are specific to RST, such as "specific electric rotation". He does not give an unambiguous procedure for calculating these constants, and based on that book alone, it is impossible to rule out the allegation that they were selected arbitrarily to make the predictions fit the data.
According to its proponents, RST can also be used to solve the famous problem of the precession of the perihelion of the planet Mercury. This problem was first solved using Einstein's equations of general relativity, which assumes relative values of space-time in the equations of motion, as opposed to Newton's assumption that space and time should be treated as absolute concepts in the equations of motion. Larson, in the RST, also assumes absolute values of space and time, but goes beyond Newton in the definition of these crucial concepts. Using these definitions, N.K.V. Nehru produced a paper describing the orbital motion of high-speed planets. The result he found from the RST was precisely the same as that from relativity. Hence, like general relativity, the RST is fully in agreement with accurate measurements of Mercury's orbit.
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Referenced By
Big Bang | Big Bang theory | Cosmic Microwave Background | Cosmic microwave background radiation | List of alternative, speculative and disputed sciences | List of alternative, speculative and disputed theories | List of protoscience | List of protosciences | List of quasi-scientific speculative ideas | List of speculative or fringe theories | Non-standard cosmology | PhysIcs | Physical theory | Physics theory | Science/Physics and Hard Sciences | Theoretical Physics
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