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The Alchemic Ether Model: An Organic Conception of Physical Space
Paul A. LaViolette
May 1978, Portland State University
© Paul LaViolette, 2013
The following are excerpts taken from an unpublished paper by the above title
written 7 years prior to the first journal publication of subquantum kinetics.
Many of the excerpted portions focus on a discussion of how chemical reactiondiffusion
systems as well as the alchemic ether approach to physics (subquantum
kinetics) fulfill the organic conception of space that Alfred North Whitehead was
proposing. This paper is interesting from the standpoint of both the early
development of subquantum kinetics and the philosophical context for the theory.
In this paper, LaViolette begins to speak of "displaced media concentrations,"
values taken relative to the ambient steady state concentration. In later editions he
identifies these as the counterparts of energy potentials in physics. He also
begins to speak of the media being composed of "etheric units". This paper was
written about three months prior to a major development in the theory, made in
August 1978, when he discovered the importance of the reverse reaction X ← G,
which was the final step in the development of Model G.
. . . Comprehension of the alchemic ether model requires a significant reorientation from
Cartesian conceptions of space. The organic, processual concept of space expounded by Alfred
North Whitehead(7, 18) provides this sought for reorientation and so may usefully serve as a
philosophical underpinning to the alchemic ether model. Thus, in the way of an introduction we
will begin with a discussion of some of Whitehead's ideas. For example, Whitehead's criticism of
the seventeenth century, Cartesian conception of space is reviewed here (a perspective which
still hangs on in contemporary "linear" field theory models). To compliment this we will discuss
the trimolecular (Brusselator) chemical reaction model as a preparation to the discussion of the
alchemic ether model and also as a means of illustrating Whitehead's organic principles. The
Whiteheadian conception of space will then be correlated with the concept of physical space
presented in the alchemic ether model.*
. . . It is understandable why physical science has retained the linear assumption; linear
equations have been successful in representing a substantial range of phenomena, and more
importantly, they are relatively easy to solve.** The significance of this last point cannot he
overly stressed, for the necessity of achieving mathematical workability and the availability of
_____________________
* The alchemic ether model was originally developed without knowledge of Whitehead's works.
However, parallels with Whitehead's notions are understandable -- while Whitehead's concepts were
inspired from biology, the alchemic ether model was inspired from recent studies of chemical
reaction patterning which, of course, are akin to phenomena found in biochemistry.(6, 9)
** On the other hand, nonlinear equations, which may provide a better grounding for field theory
have, until recently remained insoluble, and it is not surprising that they are highly uncommon in
conventional field theories. However, in the last two decades the availability of high speed
computers has made it possible to model certain classes of nonlinear systems. Thus we may be on
the brink of a new mathematical revolution.
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mathematical tools since the time of Galileo has profoundly influenced the direction which
physics has taken, the concepts of reality it has adopted and the kind of experiments it has seen
fit to conduct. Modern physics has adopted mathematics as the primary language in which
theoretical models are expressed. But, the limitations of these mathematical languages influence
the kinds of concepts which may be communicated and experimentally checked. The concepts
which achieve workability make up the reality framework in which the physicist operates and
determine to a large extent the kinds of experiments he performs. As Ludwig von Bertalanffy has
said:(22)
"Linguistic, and cultural categories in general, will not change the potentialities of sensory
experience. They will, however, change apperception, i.e., which features of experienced
reality are focused and emphasized, and which are underplayed."
Along similar lines, Joseph Pearce states:(23)
"Even our most critical, analytical, scientific, or 'detached' looking is a verification search,
sifting through possibilities for a synthesis that will strengthen the hypotheses that
generate the search... When the scientists look at the forest, they look for additions to
their garden, and they look with a gardener's eye."
The linear hypothesis has become deeply ingrained in the present framework of physical field
theory, and consequently, physicists have tended to view their forest with "linear eyes". In
losing sight of the contingent character of our mental categories, Whitehead would say we are
committing the fallacy of misplaced concreteness, mistaking the abstract for the concrete.
Since field theory deals with phenomena which are observationally far removed from the
human level, we can never hope to directly measure the behavior of fields (like we can chemical
compounds) to determine the extent to which the linear assumption is valid. We can only hope
to draw inferences from indirect observations and as we have seen, physicists have chosen to
draw these inferences in terms of linear models. It must be conceded that linear equations, which
have been useful in modeling many mechanical phenomena, have served well as a framework in
physics for integrating experimental observation. Yet, physics, especially field theory, seems to
be alone among the sciences where use of the linearity assumption (simple location) has been
tolerated. Other sciences (i.e., biology, psychology, sociology, etc.) have at some time or other,
discovered that the linearity assumption was grossly inadequate, and that instead, phenomena
were more appropriately described by nonlinear equations and interactive concepts. That is, it is
found that the constituents of natural systems generally do not act independently of one another,
but are behaviorally interrelated.
Still though, the assumption of linearity does not hold a monopoly in the physical sciences.
There are several physical phenomena which have been more appropriately described by
nonlinear mathematics. Most of these deal with nonequilibrium systems and involve either flow
processes (physical translocation) coupled with dissipative processes, or, on the other hand,
purely dissipative processes. The former includes thermal convection, tornadoes, and weather
patterns, while the latter includes transmutational phenomena such as chemical or nuclear
reactions and ecological predation interactions. Moreover, certain nonequilibrium chemical
reaction systems exhibit some interesting properties which may provide useful insights for
understanding microphysical phenomena. One such system, which has received extensive
mathematical treatment is known as the trimolecular model (or the Brusselator).
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The Trimolecular Model
The trimolecular model is a chemical reaction scheme developed by the Brussels group;(4, 24,
25) see below:
Then the paper discusses the Brusselator reaction-diffusion system. This is followed by a
section (given below) which discusses attempts that had been made to model the chemical
reaction-diffusion wave phenomenon with linear wave equations and the implications of
microphysics. proposing that our linear equations in physics may be approximations
describing nonlinear processes taking place in a subquantum ether.
A General Representation of Reaction-Diffusion Phenomena
Much work has been done recently in attempting to derive general mathematical
representations for reaction systems such as the trimolecular model and others.(28 - 30) These
approaches study various mathematical solutions of a generalized reaction system having i
species. Each species is considered to have a concentration ci, a net rate of chemical production
Ri = Ri (c1, c2 ... cn), and a net diffusive flux Ji. Wave solutions have been worked out for 1 and 2
dimensional geometries.
The point of departure for studying such wave phenomena has been to describe the character
of the underlying reaction medium. Generally, one begins by writing the following conservation
equation which must hold for all chemical species in all regions of the medium:
∂ci/∂t = Ri + Ji (5)
This basically states that the rate of increase in the concentration of a species i in a localized
region of space (say dV) is due to the net rate of production of specie i in dV by chemical
reactions plus the net rate of diffusion of specie i into dV from other regions of the medium.
If we assume that diffusion in the system can be described by a version of Fick's law that
accounts for coupled diffusion, and by making certain approximations we can express the net
diffusive flux in the system as:(28)
(6)
The Dij are diffusion coefficients giving the magnitude of the flux of the ith component caused by
a gradient in the concentration of the jth component and the Laplacian operator here measures the
departure of the concentration profile from linearity, or the "bumpiness" of the concentration
field.(28)
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At steady state S the concentrations of the species remain constant in time, hence, ∂cis/∂t = 0.
If in addition this state i is uniform, there will be no gradients so Ji = 0 and therefore substitution
in equation (5) yields Ri
s = 0. We may represent excursions ψi from the steady state in terms of
chemical concentrations as ψi, = ci - cis. We will refer to ψi as the displaced concentration. For
small amplitude excursions from the steady state, we may approximate equation (5) by a linear
version:
(7)
where Kij
s stands for the chemical reaction rate constants of processes that follow first-order
kinetics in the concentration perturbations.(28) In matrix notation this may be represented as a
standard linear partial differential matrix equation:
(8)
Solutions to this equation may take the form of either stationary or propagating waves. If we
consider a one dimensional reaction system, one solution to equation (8) is the function
representing simple harmonic waves propagating in the r-direction:
(9)
This equation is restricted by the condition that the wave-number k and the frequency factor ω
both must satisfy the determinantal equation:
det ([K] - k2 [D] + iω[I]) = 0 (10)
where [I] is the identity matrix, k = 1/λ = kR + ki and ω = 2Pf.(28) In the special case of marginal
stability, we have k = kR such that equation (9) dictates undamped oscillations of constant
amplitude:*
(11)
We may consider the amplitude of the wave to be a function of the wave vector k, A =A(k2)
and the frequency to also depend on the wave vector in a dispersion relation ω = ω (k2).(30) The
wave velocity given by v = ω/k is therefore a function of k, v = ω (k2)/k.
Ortoleva and Ross(30) take an approach similar to that of Gmitro and Scriven(28) and derive
for small amplitude perturbations in a two dimensional system solutions representing circular
standing waves and rotating waves; see Figure 9. The solid lines n Figure 9 indicate nodal curves
of constant concentration while the (±) symbols indicate deviations above and below the mean
nodal value. In the case of a rotating wave, nodal axis AB would rotate in the plane of the paper.
______________________
* On the other hand, a region of stability will dictate damped oscillations while a region of instability
predicts exponentially growing oscillations possibly leading to a stable limit cycle.
5
Figure 9. Concentration pattern in a generalized two dimensional reactiondiffusion
system representing standing or rotating waves.
It should be noted that representations of small amplitude waves such as equation (11)
provide no direct information about the reaction diffusion processes taking place "under the
surface". They simply model how the value of Y, changes above and below the zero point as a
function of distance and time. Such equations are linear approximations of deviations from a
steady state cis. The reaction processes maintaining this steady state, however, are nonlinear.
We may put this in perspective by plotting both ψ and c for a particular species i at a particular
location r0 as a time; see Figure 10. Whereas the behavior of ψi (t) is given by a linear equation of
the form of equation (11) (where r = r0), the behavior of ci(t) is given by a nonlinear equation of a
form similar to equation (5).
Now imagine for the moment that we are observing small amplitude traveling waves of the
sort shown in Figure 4 (see next page) and that these are produced in a chemical reaction of the
Figure 10. A temporal plot of a chemical wave comparing absolute concentration ci to
displaced concentration ψi.
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Figure 4. Concentrations of X and Y vs. time for a small amplitude deviation from
the steady state in the Trimolecular model (Brusselator) with A = 1 and B = 2).
type shown in scheme (1) operating at a point of marginal stability P. Also, imagine that we are
observationally myopic, that all we are capable of detecting is the superficial character of this
chemical wave, i.e., its space-time dependent concentration intensities. We would then be in a
situation which approximates the predicament of the physicist who with his sensitive
instruments is capable only of measuring electric and magnetic field intensities of an
electromagnetic wave above and below the zero norm. Under these conditions it is quite likely
that we would model the observed chemical wave with a linear equation like equation (11) and
possibly even make the mistake of assuming that the existence of the wave was not dependent on
the action of any underlying continuum. Since the spatial medium through which the chemical
wave was traveling would remain invisible to our detection, we might go so far as to suppose it to
be inert, simply a mechanical carrier or a volume called "space" possessing certain mathematical
properties.
However, the truth is that we are able to perceive the nature of this underlying substance and
know it to be reacting according to scheme (1). Also, we know that the proposed linear wave
equation is only a small amplitude approximation, a modeling of an epiphenomenon. A more
accurate representation of the wave, would be given by equations (4), but of course, such a
representation is mathematically more cumbersome.
The linear wave assumption, arrived at by modeling our myopic perception of the chemical
wave, carries with it the tacit assumption that different spatial regions of the "carrier medium"
bear only positional relationship to one another, and apart from that they exist independent of
one another. However, given that we can perceive the reaction intricacies of the chemical
medium, we find this view to be naive; regions separated in space are not isolated from one
another, but are interwoven into an organic whole. That is, the chemical concentrations observed
within a given volume of medium, dV, will depend both on the production within that volume
due to internal reactions , and on the net transport of chemical molecules to or from that volume
due to diffusion, see equation (5). These two factors constitute, so to speak, intrinsic and
extrinsic processes with respect to dV. Since any change in concentration (say in X or Y)
communicated to dV from its environment via diffusion will interact nonlinearly with the
chemical medium in dV and affect the level of chemical concentrations in dV, adjacent volumes of
medium must be considered, not as being independent of one another, but as being an inseparable
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whole. Since what is true of volume dV is true of all volumes of the medium, we may say that
the entire volume must be treated in organic unity.
This is essentially what Whitehead had in mind when he spoke of "prehensive unification" of
things being "together in space, and together in time even if they be not contemporaneous". The
diffusion of chemicals from one region of space to another and their interaction with chemicals
present in that region would constitute what Whitehead called a prehensive event.
I would suggest that the term "empathy" might also be suitable since this word carries the
meaning of both spatial communication and affection. Thus, if the reactions at a point in space A
are affected by the reactions at a distant point B, point A can be said to be empathizing with
point B. If the empathy is mutual, we can say that points A and B are sympathizing with one
another.
Prehension, or "empathy," is seen to be the basis for the propagation of chemical waves
through the reaction volume. To get a rough idea of how such wave propagation arises, consider
the trimolecular model operating at a critical point P and consider two adjacent volumes dV1 and
dV2 in a linear reaction vessel. Also, suppose that initially the concentrations of X and Y are
uniformly distributed at their steady state values. If now in region dV1 the concentration of X
increases and Y decreases in a departure from the steady state, this deviation will be
communicated to region dV2 through diffusion. That is, component X will diffuse into dV2 and
component Y will diffuse out of dV2. Now since the reaction system is operating at point P, Dy
> Dx. So, the concentration of Y in dV2 will be the first to change. Its concentration in dV2 will
fall causing the concentration of X to fall exponentially via reaction step ii (see scheme 1). This
fall in X will reduce the rate at which Y is consumed in dV2 via reaction (ii) allowing Y to build
up in concentration via step (iii). This increase in Y will now increase X exponentially and
consequently decrease Y. This increase in X will be compounded by the contribution of X
diffusing from dV1 (delayed until now). Thus we find that the conditions of high X and low Y
previously present in dV1 have now been transmitted to region dV2 via reaction and diffusion
processes. This analysis may be extended by considering successively other volumes along the
reaction vessel. We would find that the disturbance initiated in dV1 would be transmitted along
the vessel as a wave having a particular velocity and wavelength. The concentration oscillation in
each volume would be synchronized but slightly out of phase with the oscillation in an adjacent
volume. Thus, the wave emerges as a macrolevel inhomogeneity which is propagated as a result
of microlevel molecular reaction and diffusion processes taking place throughout the medium.
The remainder of this paper will explore a new conception of space based on a nonlinear ether
reaction scheme that is similar in many respects to the trimolecular model (Brusselator). Such a
model of space embodies the essential features which Whitehead has stressed in his organic
theory of nature and offers a basis for understanding the emergence of inhomogeneities such as
photons and material particles.
The paper then goes on to describe a Brusselator-like reaction-diffusion ether scheme that
hypothesized in the subquantum kinetics approach. This approach was at this early stage of
development referred to as the alchemic ether model.
The alchemic model allows a new conception of space. The notion of simple location is
abandoned; space is now viewed as being active and organic, composed of media which are
engaged in a process of mutual transformation.* Consequently, a medium inhomogeneity
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communicated from point A to point B by diffusion will affect the nature of the media
transmutations taking place at point B. With this in mind, the notion of spatial volume must be
recast from a Whiteheadian perspective:(17)
". . . the prehensive unity of the volume is not the unity of a mere logical aggregate of parts.
The parts form an ordered aggregate, in the sense that each part is something from the
standpoint of every other part, and also from the same standpoint every other part is
something in relation to it. Thus if A and B and C are volumes of space, B has an aspect
from the standpoint of A, and so has C, and so has the relationship of B and C. This aspect
of B from A is of the essence of A. The volumes of space have no independent existence.
They are only entities as within the totality; you cannot extract them from their environment
without destruction of their very essence."
Whitehead defines the "mode in which B enters into composition of A" as "the aspect of B
from A." Accordingly, the modal character of space of which he speaks is expressed by his
statement that ''the prehensive unity of A is the prehension into unity of the aspects of all other
volumes from the standpoint of A," or that "every volume mirrors in itself every other volume in
space". In a certain sense he says, then, "everything is everywhere at all times. For every
location involves an aspect of itself in every other location."
The paper then goes on to describe the alchemic ether model's application to the formation of
photons and particles. Eventually this leads into a continued discussion of Whitehead's ideas.
Figure 15. One-dimensional cross sectional view of a 3-dimensional dissipative space
structure (material particle) showing how spatial inhomogeneity is maintained through
a balance between reaction and diffusion.
__________________________
* (from p. 7) The view that the underlying character of the universe is one of activity and change is
rooted in eastern religion and also corresponds to Shelley's portrayal of nature. According to
Whitehead: "Shelly thinks of nature as changing, dissolving, transforming as it were at a fairy's touch.
The leaves fly before the West Wind 'like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.' In his poem The Cloud,
it is the transformations of water which excite his imagination. The subject of the poem is the
endless, eternal, elusive change of things: 'I change but I cannot die."
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. . . Consider Figure 15 which shows a one-dimensional profile of this spherical propagation
[steady state dissipative space structure produced by the alchemic ether model]. It is seen that
any diffusion of medium X from region X1 into its complimentary region X1' is compensated by
an equal diffusion from X1' into X1. Consequently, the diffusive loss of medium X can only take
place in directions away from center point 0; i.e., from X1 into Y1 or from X1' into Y1'.
Consider for the moment just regions X1 and Y1. Suppose a quantity dx of medium X diffuses
from region X1 into region Y1 and an equal quantity dy of medium Y diffuses from region Y1 into
X1. As was discussed earlier with respect to the tri-molecular model (Brusselator), in regions of
high Y concentration there is an affinity for X to be preferentially converted to Y and in regions
of high X concentration an affinity for Y to be preferentially converted to X. Consequently in
region Y1, dx will be transmuted into an equivalent amount dy as symbolized by the process dx
→ dy. This transmutational input of dy into region Y1 will exactly compensate for the diffusive
loss of dy from this region provided that the rate of transmutation keeps pace with the rate of
diffusion, as will be the case when the pattern has fully developed and maintains a steady state.
Consequently, the concentration of Y in region Y1 will be preserved unchanged in the face of
diffusion. Likewise, the concentration of X in region X1 will also remain invariant, and similarly
for other regions to the left and right of point 0.
We may regard a material particle as being composed of a distribution of etheric units
spatially ordered according to whether they are type X or Y. From a thermodynamic perspective
this constitutes a state of negentropy. The fact that etheric units diffuse from regions of higher
concentration to regions of lower concentration indicates that the Second Law of Thermodynamics
is in operation. However, certain open reaction systems, such as the one proposed here,
have the ability to oppose the increase of entropy through the action of their processually
ordered transmutational (dissipative) processes. Thus, if we visualize the regions of high X and
high Y in Figure 15 as alternating regions of red and blue beads engaged in random motion, we
would observe, in conformance with the Second Law, that red beads tended on the whole to
diffuse into blue regions and blue beads into red regions. However, the original segregated order
would remain preserved, for just as fast as the red beads enter into blue regions, they are
converted into blue beads, and vice versa.
Thus, a material particle, viewed as a dissipative space structure, has the unique property
that, by virtue of its geometry and autocatalytic character, it is able to preserve itself as a stable
pattern. Consequently, as the initial quantum X, Y disturbance travels outward radially its
"past" becomes frozen; inner lying regions formerly excited into their inhomogeneous state
remain so as an enduring structure is formed. A particle is essentially the historical travel
itinerary of its parent nucleating fluctuation. Linearly propagating quanta, on the other hand, are
more "now oriented." They leave no trace behind as they travel.
Earlier (cf. p. 6) we noted that the prehensive character of the trimolecular (Brusselator)
reaction medium is the basis by which chemical reaction waves are propagated. The prehensive
character of space as depicted in the alchemic ether model, similarly may be regarded as the basis
for the spatial propagation of quanta (both linearly and radially) and for the maintenance of the
inhomogeneous steady state known as matter. As an illustration of this latter case, we may note,
by reference to Figure 15, that when a quantity dx diffuses from region X1 into Y1, region Y1
"takes account" of this environmental communication by incorporating it into its local reaction
kinetics, i.e., through the transformation dx → dy. Consequently, the structure of a particle of
matter can be said to maintain its ordered state by virtue of spatial empathy, or what may be
otherwise called nonlinear interaction.
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It is interesting to note that Whitehead's organic conception of material particles in many
respects resembles the dissipative space structure view proposed here.* Whitehead visualizes a
subatomic particle, what he calls a "primate", as being associated with a pattern of
electromagnetic waves, or what he terms "vibratory organic deformations," which are radially
disposed in a stationary manner:(17)
"A primate must be associated with a definite frequency of vibratory organic deformation so
that when it goes to pieces it dissolves into light waves of the same frequency, which then
carry off all its average energy. It is quite easy (as a particular hypothesis) to imagine
stationary vibrations of the electromagnetic field of definite frequency, and directed radially
to and from a centre, which, in accordance with the accepted electromagnetic laws, would
consist of a vibratory spherical nucleus satisfying one set of conditions and a vibratory
external field satisfying another set of conditions. ...The total energy, according to one of
these ways, should satisfy the quantum condition; so that it consists of an integral number of
units or cents, which are such that the cent of energy of any primate is proportional a to its
frequency.
. . . In this particular hypothesis of vibratory primates, the Maxwellian equations are
supposed to hold throughout all space, including the interior of a proton. They express the
laws governing the vibratory production and absorption of energy. The whole process for
each primate issues in a certain average energy characteristic of the primate, and proportional
to its mass. In fact the energy is mass. There are vibratory radial streams of energy, both
without and within a primate. Within the primate, there are vibratory distributions of electric
density. On the materialistic theory such density marks the presence of material: on the
organic theory of vibration, it marks the vibratory production of energy. Such production is
restricted to the interior of the primate."
His "vibratory radial streams of energy" might be likened in the alchemic ether model to the
electric field propagating outward at the boundary of the space structure. However, these
stationary vibrations would not be "in accordance with the accepted electromagnetic laws," as he
states, since the laws of electromagnetics accepted by contemporary physics do not presuppose
that such waves are sustained by underlying nonlinear interactions.
One major discrepancy between Whitehead's view of particles and that proposed in the
alchemic ether model is that Whitehead accepts the field-source dualism. He distinguishes
between the interior and exterior of a particle, which he says each satisfy a different set of
conditions. The alchemic ether model, on the other hand, makes no distinction between inside
and outside. A particle has only an "inside" in the conventional sense, no "outside." The extent
of this inside region is determined by the particle's event horizon, i.e., the radially propagating
electromagnetic field boundary induced by the photon that created it (i.e., in the case of pair
production). Thus, the particle's radius is time dependent, expanding at the rate of 186,000 miles
per second, where r = ct.
What is usually thought of as the "inside*' of a particle, i.e., the nucleus (which is on the
order of 10-13 cm in the case of a proton) is not distinguishable in the alchemic ether model, save
for the central concentration inhomogeneity. But, this core inhomogeneity contains no units of
charge or mass. As a will be discussed in a subsequent paper, the seat of a particle's electrostatic
potential resides throughout its space structure. The attractive or repulsive action of a particle's
"electrostatic field" may be traced to the geometry of the particle and whether an elevated
concentration of X or Y resides at its center. Thus "charge" becomes viewed as a property
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characteristic of the entire volume of a particle. Likewise, "mass" is also viewed as a property of
the entire particle space structure, being related to the peak intensity of the displaced medium
concentration in the particle's standing wave pattern.
The paper then goes on to discuss de Broglie's wave theory of matter and how the dissipative
structure particle predicted by the alchemic ether model (i.e., subquantum kinetics) satisfies
quantitative experimental observations of particle diffraction and correctly predicts the radii
of the Bohr orbits in the hydrogen atom. All this is essentially as is described in the
published version of subquantum kinetics.
References
(4) (reference lacking)
(6) (reference lacking)
(7) Whitehead, A. N. (reference lacking)
(9) (reference lacking)
(17) Whitehead, A. N. Science and the Modern World, New York, Macmillan, 1925, pp. 81, 168.
https://evankozierachi.com/uploads/Whitehead_-_Science_and_the_Modern_World.pdf
(18) Whitehead, A. N. (reference lacking)
(22) L. von Bertalanffy, "The Relativity of Categories," General System Theory (Braziller, New
York, 1968), p. 235.
(23) J. Pearce, The Crack in the Cosmic Egg (Pocket Books, New York, 1973), p. 4, 16.
(24) R. Lefever, J. Chem. Phys. 49, 4977 (1968).
(25) M. Herschkowitz-Kaufman and G. Nicolis, J. Chem. Phys. 56, 1890 (1972).
(28) J. Gmitro and L. Scriven, in K. Warren (ed.), Intracellular Transport (Academic , New York,
1966), p. 221.
(29) N. Kopell and L. Howard, Studies App. Math. 52, 291 (1973).
(30) P. Ortoleva and J. Ross, J. Chem. Phys. 60, 5090 (1974).
1
The Alchemic Ether Model: An Organic Conception of Physical Space
Paul A. LaViolette
May 1978, Portland State University
© Paul LaViolette, 2013
The following are excerpts taken from an unpublished paper by the above title
written 7 years prior to the first journal publication of subquantum kinetics.
Many of the excerpted portions focus on a discussion of how chemical reactiondiffusion
systems as well as the alchemic ether approach to physics (subquantum
kinetics) fulfill the organic conception of space that Alfred North Whitehead was
proposing. This paper is interesting from the standpoint of both the early
development of subquantum kinetics and the philosophical context for the theory.
In this paper, LaViolette begins to speak of "displaced media concentrations,"
values taken relative to the ambient steady state concentration. In later editions he
identifies these as the counterparts of energy potentials in physics. He also
begins to speak of the media being composed of "etheric units". This paper was
written about three months prior to a major development in the theory, made in
August 1978, when he discovered the importance of the reverse reaction X ← G,
which was the final step in the development of Model G.
. . . Comprehension of the alchemic ether model requires a significant reorientation from
Cartesian conceptions of space. The organic, processual concept of space expounded by Alfred
North Whitehead(7, 18) provides this sought for reorientation and so may usefully serve as a
philosophical underpinning to the alchemic ether model. Thus, in the way of an introduction we
will begin with a discussion of some of Whitehead's ideas. For example, Whitehead's criticism of
the seventeenth century, Cartesian conception of space is reviewed here (a perspective which
still hangs on in contemporary "linear" field theory models). To compliment this we will discuss
the trimolecular (Brusselator) chemical reaction model as a preparation to the discussion of the
alchemic ether model and also as a means of illustrating Whitehead's organic principles. The
Whiteheadian conception of space will then be correlated with the concept of physical space
presented in the alchemic ether model.*
. . . It is understandable why physical science has retained the linear assumption; linear
equations have been successful in representing a substantial range of phenomena, and more
importantly, they are relatively easy to solve.** The significance of this last point cannot he
overly stressed, for the necessity of achieving mathematical workability and the availability of
_____________________
* The alchemic ether model was originally developed without knowledge of Whitehead's works.
However, parallels with Whitehead's notions are understandable -- while Whitehead's concepts were
inspired from biology, the alchemic ether model was inspired from recent studies of chemical
reaction patterning which, of course, are akin to phenomena found in biochemistry.(6, 9)
** On the other hand, nonlinear equations, which may provide a better grounding for field theory
have, until recently remained insoluble, and it is not surprising that they are highly uncommon in
conventional field theories. However, in the last two decades the availability of high speed
computers has made it possible to model certain classes of nonlinear systems. Thus we may be on
the brink of a new mathematical revolution.
2
mathematical tools since the time of Galileo has profoundly influenced the direction which
physics has taken, the concepts of reality it has adopted and the kind of experiments it has seen
fit to conduct. Modern physics has adopted mathematics as the primary language in which
theoretical models are expressed. But, the limitations of these mathematical languages influence
the kinds of concepts which may be communicated and experimentally checked. The concepts
which achieve workability make up the reality framework in which the physicist operates and
determine to a large extent the kinds of experiments he performs. As Ludwig von Bertalanffy has
said:(22)
"Linguistic, and cultural categories in general, will not change the potentialities of sensory
experience. They will, however, change apperception, i.e., which features of experienced
reality are focused and emphasized, and which are underplayed."
Along similar lines, Joseph Pearce states:(23)
"Even our most critical, analytical, scientific, or 'detached' looking is a verification search,
sifting through possibilities for a synthesis that will strengthen the hypotheses that
generate the search... When the scientists look at the forest, they look for additions to
their garden, and they look with a gardener's eye."
The linear hypothesis has become deeply ingrained in the present framework of physical field
theory, and consequently, physicists have tended to view their forest with "linear eyes". In
losing sight of the contingent character of our mental categories, Whitehead would say we are
committing the fallacy of misplaced concreteness, mistaking the abstract for the concrete.
Since field theory deals with phenomena which are observationally far removed from the
human level, we can never hope to directly measure the behavior of fields (like we can chemical
compounds) to determine the extent to which the linear assumption is valid. We can only hope
to draw inferences from indirect observations and as we have seen, physicists have chosen to
draw these inferences in terms of linear models. It must be conceded that linear equations, which
have been useful in modeling many mechanical phenomena, have served well as a framework in
physics for integrating experimental observation. Yet, physics, especially field theory, seems to
be alone among the sciences where use of the linearity assumption (simple location) has been
tolerated. Other sciences (i.e., biology, psychology, sociology, etc.) have at some time or other,
discovered that the linearity assumption was grossly inadequate, and that instead, phenomena
were more appropriately described by nonlinear equations and interactive concepts. That is, it is
found that the constituents of natural systems generally do not act independently of one another,
but are behaviorally interrelated.
Still though, the assumption of linearity does not hold a monopoly in the physical sciences.
There are several physical phenomena which have been more appropriately described by
nonlinear mathematics. Most of these deal with nonequilibrium systems and involve either flow
processes (physical translocation) coupled with dissipative processes, or, on the other hand,
purely dissipative processes. The former includes thermal convection, tornadoes, and weather
patterns, while the latter includes transmutational phenomena such as chemical or nuclear
reactions and ecological predation interactions. Moreover, certain nonequilibrium chemical
reaction systems exhibit some interesting properties which may provide useful insights for
understanding microphysical phenomena. One such system, which has received extensive
mathematical treatment is known as the trimolecular model (or the Brusselator).
3
The Trimolecular Model
The trimolecular model is a chemical reaction scheme developed by the Brussels group;(4, 24,
25) see below:
Then the paper discusses the Brusselator reaction-diffusion system. This is followed by a
section (given below) which discusses attempts that had been made to model the chemical
reaction-diffusion wave phenomenon with linear wave equations and the implications of
microphysics. proposing that our linear equations in physics may be approximations
describing nonlinear processes taking place in a subquantum ether.
A General Representation of Reaction-Diffusion Phenomena
Much work has been done recently in attempting to derive general mathematical
representations for reaction systems such as the trimolecular model and others.(28 - 30) These
approaches study various mathematical solutions of a generalized reaction system having i
species. Each species is considered to have a concentration ci, a net rate of chemical production
Ri = Ri (c1, c2 ... cn), and a net diffusive flux Ji. Wave solutions have been worked out for 1 and 2
dimensional geometries.
The point of departure for studying such wave phenomena has been to describe the character
of the underlying reaction medium. Generally, one begins by writing the following conservation
equation which must hold for all chemical species in all regions of the medium:
∂ci/∂t = Ri + Ji (5)
This basically states that the rate of increase in the concentration of a species i in a localized
region of space (say dV) is due to the net rate of production of specie i in dV by chemical
reactions plus the net rate of diffusion of specie i into dV from other regions of the medium.
If we assume that diffusion in the system can be described by a version of Fick's law that
accounts for coupled diffusion, and by making certain approximations we can express the net
diffusive flux in the system as:(28)
(6)
The Dij are diffusion coefficients giving the magnitude of the flux of the ith component caused by
a gradient in the concentration of the jth component and the Laplacian operator here measures the
departure of the concentration profile from linearity, or the "bumpiness" of the concentration
field.(28)
4
At steady state S the concentrations of the species remain constant in time, hence, ∂cis/∂t = 0.
If in addition this state i is uniform, there will be no gradients so Ji = 0 and therefore substitution
in equation (5) yields Ri
s = 0. We may represent excursions ψi from the steady state in terms of
chemical concentrations as ψi, = ci - cis. We will refer to ψi as the displaced concentration. For
small amplitude excursions from the steady state, we may approximate equation (5) by a linear
version:
(7)
where Kij
s stands for the chemical reaction rate constants of processes that follow first-order
kinetics in the concentration perturbations.(28) In matrix notation this may be represented as a
standard linear partial differential matrix equation:
(8)
Solutions to this equation may take the form of either stationary or propagating waves. If we
consider a one dimensional reaction system, one solution to equation (8) is the function
representing simple harmonic waves propagating in the r-direction:
(9)
This equation is restricted by the condition that the wave-number k and the frequency factor ω
both must satisfy the determinantal equation:
det ([K] - k2 [D] + iω[I]) = 0 (10)
where [I] is the identity matrix, k = 1/λ = kR + ki and ω = 2Pf.(28) In the special case of marginal
stability, we have k = kR such that equation (9) dictates undamped oscillations of constant
amplitude:*
(11)
We may consider the amplitude of the wave to be a function of the wave vector k, A =A(k2)
and the frequency to also depend on the wave vector in a dispersion relation ω = ω (k2).(30) The
wave velocity given by v = ω/k is therefore a function of k, v = ω (k2)/k.
Ortoleva and Ross(30) take an approach similar to that of Gmitro and Scriven(28) and derive
for small amplitude perturbations in a two dimensional system solutions representing circular
standing waves and rotating waves; see Figure 9. The solid lines n Figure 9 indicate nodal curves
of constant concentration while the (±) symbols indicate deviations above and below the mean
nodal value. In the case of a rotating wave, nodal axis AB would rotate in the plane of the paper.
______________________
* On the other hand, a region of stability will dictate damped oscillations while a region of instability
predicts exponentially growing oscillations possibly leading to a stable limit cycle.
5
Figure 9. Concentration pattern in a generalized two dimensional reactiondiffusion
system representing standing or rotating waves.
It should be noted that representations of small amplitude waves such as equation (11)
provide no direct information about the reaction diffusion processes taking place "under the
surface". They simply model how the value of Y, changes above and below the zero point as a
function of distance and time. Such equations are linear approximations of deviations from a
steady state cis. The reaction processes maintaining this steady state, however, are nonlinear.
We may put this in perspective by plotting both ψ and c for a particular species i at a particular
location r0 as a time; see Figure 10. Whereas the behavior of ψi (t) is given by a linear equation of
the form of equation (11) (where r = r0), the behavior of ci(t) is given by a nonlinear equation of a
form similar to equation (5).
Now imagine for the moment that we are observing small amplitude traveling waves of the
sort shown in Figure 4 (see next page) and that these are produced in a chemical reaction of the
Figure 10. A temporal plot of a chemical wave comparing absolute concentration ci to
displaced concentration ψi.
6
Figure 4. Concentrations of X and Y vs. time for a small amplitude deviation from
the steady state in the Trimolecular model (Brusselator) with A = 1 and B = 2).
type shown in scheme (1) operating at a point of marginal stability P. Also, imagine that we are
observationally myopic, that all we are capable of detecting is the superficial character of this
chemical wave, i.e., its space-time dependent concentration intensities. We would then be in a
situation which approximates the predicament of the physicist who with his sensitive
instruments is capable only of measuring electric and magnetic field intensities of an
electromagnetic wave above and below the zero norm. Under these conditions it is quite likely
that we would model the observed chemical wave with a linear equation like equation (11) and
possibly even make the mistake of assuming that the existence of the wave was not dependent on
the action of any underlying continuum. Since the spatial medium through which the chemical
wave was traveling would remain invisible to our detection, we might go so far as to suppose it to
be inert, simply a mechanical carrier or a volume called "space" possessing certain mathematical
properties.
However, the truth is that we are able to perceive the nature of this underlying substance and
know it to be reacting according to scheme (1). Also, we know that the proposed linear wave
equation is only a small amplitude approximation, a modeling of an epiphenomenon. A more
accurate representation of the wave, would be given by equations (4), but of course, such a
representation is mathematically more cumbersome.
The linear wave assumption, arrived at by modeling our myopic perception of the chemical
wave, carries with it the tacit assumption that different spatial regions of the "carrier medium"
bear only positional relationship to one another, and apart from that they exist independent of
one another. However, given that we can perceive the reaction intricacies of the chemical
medium, we find this view to be naive; regions separated in space are not isolated from one
another, but are interwoven into an organic whole. That is, the chemical concentrations observed
within a given volume of medium, dV, will depend both on the production within that volume
due to internal reactions , and on the net transport of chemical molecules to or from that volume
due to diffusion, see equation (5). These two factors constitute, so to speak, intrinsic and
extrinsic processes with respect to dV. Since any change in concentration (say in X or Y)
communicated to dV from its environment via diffusion will interact nonlinearly with the
chemical medium in dV and affect the level of chemical concentrations in dV, adjacent volumes of
medium must be considered, not as being independent of one another, but as being an inseparable
7
whole. Since what is true of volume dV is true of all volumes of the medium, we may say that
the entire volume must be treated in organic unity.
This is essentially what Whitehead had in mind when he spoke of "prehensive unification" of
things being "together in space, and together in time even if they be not contemporaneous". The
diffusion of chemicals from one region of space to another and their interaction with chemicals
present in that region would constitute what Whitehead called a prehensive event.
I would suggest that the term "empathy" might also be suitable since this word carries the
meaning of both spatial communication and affection. Thus, if the reactions at a point in space A
are affected by the reactions at a distant point B, point A can be said to be empathizing with
point B. If the empathy is mutual, we can say that points A and B are sympathizing with one
another.
Prehension, or "empathy," is seen to be the basis for the propagation of chemical waves
through the reaction volume. To get a rough idea of how such wave propagation arises, consider
the trimolecular model operating at a critical point P and consider two adjacent volumes dV1 and
dV2 in a linear reaction vessel. Also, suppose that initially the concentrations of X and Y are
uniformly distributed at their steady state values. If now in region dV1 the concentration of X
increases and Y decreases in a departure from the steady state, this deviation will be
communicated to region dV2 through diffusion. That is, component X will diffuse into dV2 and
component Y will diffuse out of dV2. Now since the reaction system is operating at point P, Dy
> Dx. So, the concentration of Y in dV2 will be the first to change. Its concentration in dV2 will
fall causing the concentration of X to fall exponentially via reaction step ii (see scheme 1). This
fall in X will reduce the rate at which Y is consumed in dV2 via reaction (ii) allowing Y to build
up in concentration via step (iii). This increase in Y will now increase X exponentially and
consequently decrease Y. This increase in X will be compounded by the contribution of X
diffusing from dV1 (delayed until now). Thus we find that the conditions of high X and low Y
previously present in dV1 have now been transmitted to region dV2 via reaction and diffusion
processes. This analysis may be extended by considering successively other volumes along the
reaction vessel. We would find that the disturbance initiated in dV1 would be transmitted along
the vessel as a wave having a particular velocity and wavelength. The concentration oscillation in
each volume would be synchronized but slightly out of phase with the oscillation in an adjacent
volume. Thus, the wave emerges as a macrolevel inhomogeneity which is propagated as a result
of microlevel molecular reaction and diffusion processes taking place throughout the medium.
The remainder of this paper will explore a new conception of space based on a nonlinear ether
reaction scheme that is similar in many respects to the trimolecular model (Brusselator). Such a
model of space embodies the essential features which Whitehead has stressed in his organic
theory of nature and offers a basis for understanding the emergence of inhomogeneities such as
photons and material particles.
The paper then goes on to describe a Brusselator-like reaction-diffusion ether scheme that
hypothesized in the subquantum kinetics approach. This approach was at this early stage of
development referred to as the alchemic ether model.
The alchemic model allows a new conception of space. The notion of simple location is
abandoned; space is now viewed as being active and organic, composed of media which are
engaged in a process of mutual transformation.* Consequently, a medium inhomogeneity
8
communicated from point A to point B by diffusion will affect the nature of the media
transmutations taking place at point B. With this in mind, the notion of spatial volume must be
recast from a Whiteheadian perspective:(17)
". . . the prehensive unity of the volume is not the unity of a mere logical aggregate of parts.
The parts form an ordered aggregate, in the sense that each part is something from the
standpoint of every other part, and also from the same standpoint every other part is
something in relation to it. Thus if A and B and C are volumes of space, B has an aspect
from the standpoint of A, and so has C, and so has the relationship of B and C. This aspect
of B from A is of the essence of A. The volumes of space have no independent existence.
They are only entities as within the totality; you cannot extract them from their environment
without destruction of their very essence."
Whitehead defines the "mode in which B enters into composition of A" as "the aspect of B
from A." Accordingly, the modal character of space of which he speaks is expressed by his
statement that ''the prehensive unity of A is the prehension into unity of the aspects of all other
volumes from the standpoint of A," or that "every volume mirrors in itself every other volume in
space". In a certain sense he says, then, "everything is everywhere at all times. For every
location involves an aspect of itself in every other location."
The paper then goes on to describe the alchemic ether model's application to the formation of
photons and particles. Eventually this leads into a continued discussion of Whitehead's ideas.
Figure 15. One-dimensional cross sectional view of a 3-dimensional dissipative space
structure (material particle) showing how spatial inhomogeneity is maintained through
a balance between reaction and diffusion.
__________________________
* (from p. 7) The view that the underlying character of the universe is one of activity and change is
rooted in eastern religion and also corresponds to Shelley's portrayal of nature. According to
Whitehead: "Shelly thinks of nature as changing, dissolving, transforming as it were at a fairy's touch.
The leaves fly before the West Wind 'like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.' In his poem The Cloud,
it is the transformations of water which excite his imagination. The subject of the poem is the
endless, eternal, elusive change of things: 'I change but I cannot die."
9
. . . Consider Figure 15 which shows a one-dimensional profile of this spherical propagation
[steady state dissipative space structure produced by the alchemic ether model]. It is seen that
any diffusion of medium X from region X1 into its complimentary region X1' is compensated by
an equal diffusion from X1' into X1. Consequently, the diffusive loss of medium X can only take
place in directions away from center point 0; i.e., from X1 into Y1 or from X1' into Y1'.
Consider for the moment just regions X1 and Y1. Suppose a quantity dx of medium X diffuses
from region X1 into region Y1 and an equal quantity dy of medium Y diffuses from region Y1 into
X1. As was discussed earlier with respect to the tri-molecular model (Brusselator), in regions of
high Y concentration there is an affinity for X to be preferentially converted to Y and in regions
of high X concentration an affinity for Y to be preferentially converted to X. Consequently in
region Y1, dx will be transmuted into an equivalent amount dy as symbolized by the process dx
→ dy. This transmutational input of dy into region Y1 will exactly compensate for the diffusive
loss of dy from this region provided that the rate of transmutation keeps pace with the rate of
diffusion, as will be the case when the pattern has fully developed and maintains a steady state.
Consequently, the concentration of Y in region Y1 will be preserved unchanged in the face of
diffusion. Likewise, the concentration of X in region X1 will also remain invariant, and similarly
for other regions to the left and right of point 0.
We may regard a material particle as being composed of a distribution of etheric units
spatially ordered according to whether they are type X or Y. From a thermodynamic perspective
this constitutes a state of negentropy. The fact that etheric units diffuse from regions of higher
concentration to regions of lower concentration indicates that the Second Law of Thermodynamics
is in operation. However, certain open reaction systems, such as the one proposed here,
have the ability to oppose the increase of entropy through the action of their processually
ordered transmutational (dissipative) processes. Thus, if we visualize the regions of high X and
high Y in Figure 15 as alternating regions of red and blue beads engaged in random motion, we
would observe, in conformance with the Second Law, that red beads tended on the whole to
diffuse into blue regions and blue beads into red regions. However, the original segregated order
would remain preserved, for just as fast as the red beads enter into blue regions, they are
converted into blue beads, and vice versa.
Thus, a material particle, viewed as a dissipative space structure, has the unique property
that, by virtue of its geometry and autocatalytic character, it is able to preserve itself as a stable
pattern. Consequently, as the initial quantum X, Y disturbance travels outward radially its
"past" becomes frozen; inner lying regions formerly excited into their inhomogeneous state
remain so as an enduring structure is formed. A particle is essentially the historical travel
itinerary of its parent nucleating fluctuation. Linearly propagating quanta, on the other hand, are
more "now oriented." They leave no trace behind as they travel.
Earlier (cf. p. 6) we noted that the prehensive character of the trimolecular (Brusselator)
reaction medium is the basis by which chemical reaction waves are propagated. The prehensive
character of space as depicted in the alchemic ether model, similarly may be regarded as the basis
for the spatial propagation of quanta (both linearly and radially) and for the maintenance of the
inhomogeneous steady state known as matter. As an illustration of this latter case, we may note,
by reference to Figure 15, that when a quantity dx diffuses from region X1 into Y1, region Y1
"takes account" of this environmental communication by incorporating it into its local reaction
kinetics, i.e., through the transformation dx → dy. Consequently, the structure of a particle of
matter can be said to maintain its ordered state by virtue of spatial empathy, or what may be
otherwise called nonlinear interaction.
10
It is interesting to note that Whitehead's organic conception of material particles in many
respects resembles the dissipative space structure view proposed here.* Whitehead visualizes a
subatomic particle, what he calls a "primate", as being associated with a pattern of
electromagnetic waves, or what he terms "vibratory organic deformations," which are radially
disposed in a stationary manner:(17)
"A primate must be associated with a definite frequency of vibratory organic deformation so
that when it goes to pieces it dissolves into light waves of the same frequency, which then
carry off all its average energy. It is quite easy (as a particular hypothesis) to imagine
stationary vibrations of the electromagnetic field of definite frequency, and directed radially
to and from a centre, which, in accordance with the accepted electromagnetic laws, would
consist of a vibratory spherical nucleus satisfying one set of conditions and a vibratory
external field satisfying another set of conditions. ...The total energy, according to one of
these ways, should satisfy the quantum condition; so that it consists of an integral number of
units or cents, which are such that the cent of energy of any primate is proportional a to its
frequency.
. . . In this particular hypothesis of vibratory primates, the Maxwellian equations are
supposed to hold throughout all space, including the interior of a proton. They express the
laws governing the vibratory production and absorption of energy. The whole process for
each primate issues in a certain average energy characteristic of the primate, and proportional
to its mass. In fact the energy is mass. There are vibratory radial streams of energy, both
without and within a primate. Within the primate, there are vibratory distributions of electric
density. On the materialistic theory such density marks the presence of material: on the
organic theory of vibration, it marks the vibratory production of energy. Such production is
restricted to the interior of the primate."
His "vibratory radial streams of energy" might be likened in the alchemic ether model to the
electric field propagating outward at the boundary of the space structure. However, these
stationary vibrations would not be "in accordance with the accepted electromagnetic laws," as he
states, since the laws of electromagnetics accepted by contemporary physics do not presuppose
that such waves are sustained by underlying nonlinear interactions.
One major discrepancy between Whitehead's view of particles and that proposed in the
alchemic ether model is that Whitehead accepts the field-source dualism. He distinguishes
between the interior and exterior of a particle, which he says each satisfy a different set of
conditions. The alchemic ether model, on the other hand, makes no distinction between inside
and outside. A particle has only an "inside" in the conventional sense, no "outside." The extent
of this inside region is determined by the particle's event horizon, i.e., the radially propagating
electromagnetic field boundary induced by the photon that created it (i.e., in the case of pair
production). Thus, the particle's radius is time dependent, expanding at the rate of 186,000 miles
per second, where r = ct.
What is usually thought of as the "inside*' of a particle, i.e., the nucleus (which is on the
order of 10-13 cm in the case of a proton) is not distinguishable in the alchemic ether model, save
for the central concentration inhomogeneity. But, this core inhomogeneity contains no units of
charge or mass. As a will be discussed in a subsequent paper, the seat of a particle's electrostatic
potential resides throughout its space structure. The attractive or repulsive action of a particle's
"electrostatic field" may be traced to the geometry of the particle and whether an elevated
concentration of X or Y resides at its center. Thus "charge" becomes viewed as a property
11
characteristic of the entire volume of a particle. Likewise, "mass" is also viewed as a property of
the entire particle space structure, being related to the peak intensity of the displaced medium
concentration in the particle's standing wave pattern.
The paper then goes on to discuss de Broglie's wave theory of matter and how the dissipative
structure particle predicted by the alchemic ether model (i.e., subquantum kinetics) satisfies
quantitative experimental observations of particle diffraction and correctly predicts the radii
of the Bohr orbits in the hydrogen atom. All this is essentially as is described in the
published version of subquantum kinetics.
References
(4) (reference lacking)
(6) (reference lacking)
(7) Whitehead, A. N. (reference lacking)
(9) (reference lacking)
(17) Whitehead, A. N. Science and the Modern World, New York, Macmillan, 1925, pp. 81, 168.
https://evankozierachi.com/uploads/Whitehead_-_Science_and_the_Modern_World.pdf
(18) Whitehead, A. N. (reference lacking)
(22) L. von Bertalanffy, "The Relativity of Categories," General System Theory (Braziller, New
York, 1968), p. 235.
(23) J. Pearce, The Crack in the Cosmic Egg (Pocket Books, New York, 1973), p. 4, 16.
(24) R. Lefever, J. Chem. Phys. 49, 4977 (1968).
(25) M. Herschkowitz-Kaufman and G. Nicolis, J. Chem. Phys. 56, 1890 (1972).
(28) J. Gmitro and L. Scriven, in K. Warren (ed.), Intracellular Transport (Academic , New York,
1966), p. 221.
(29) N. Kopell and L. Howard, Studies App. Math. 52, 291 (1973).
(30) P. Ortoleva and J. Ross, J. Chem. Phys. 60, 5090 (1974).
Warp Field Mechanics 101
Dr. Harold “Sonny” White
NASA Johnson Space Center
2101 NASA Parkway, MC EP4
Houston, TX 77058
e-mail: harold.white-1@nasa.gov
Abstract:
This paper will begin with a short review of the Alcubierre warp drive metric and describes how the
phenomenon might work based on the original paper. The canonical form of the metric was developed
and published in [6] which provided key insight into the field potential and boost for the field which
remedied a critical paradox in the original Alcubierre concept of operations. A modified concept of
operations based on the canonical form of the metric that remedies the paradox is presented and
discussed. The idea of a warp drive in higher dimensional space-time (manifold) will then be briefly
considered by comparing the null-like geodesics of the Alcubierre metric to the Chung-Freese metric to
illustrate the mathematical role of hyperspace coordinates. The net effect of using a warp drive
“technology” coupled with conventional propulsion systems on an exploration mission will be discussed
using the nomenclature of early mission planning. Finally, an overview of the warp field interferometer
test bed being implemented in the Advanced Propulsion Physics Laboratory: Eagleworks (APPL:E) at the
Johnson Space Center will be detailed. While warp field mechanics has not had a “Chicago Pile” moment,
the tools necessary to detect a modest instance of the phenomenon are near at hand.
Keywords: warp, boost, York Time, bulk, brane
Introduction
How hard is interstellar flight without some form of a warp drive? Consider the Voyager 1 spacecraft [1],
a small 0.722 mT spacecraft launched in 1977, it is currently out at ~116 Astronomical Units (AU) after
33 years of flight with a cruise speed of 3.6 AU per year. This is the highest energy craft ever launched by
mankind to date, yet it will take ~75000 years to reach Proxima Centauri, the nearest star at 4.3 light
years away in our neighboring trinary system, Alpha Centauri. Recent informal mission trades have been
assessing the capabilities of emerging high power EP systems coupled to light nuclear reactors to
accomplish the reference Thousand Astronomical Units (TAU) [2] mission in ~15 years. Rough
calculations suggest that such a Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) robotic mission would pass Voyager 1
in just a few years on its way to reaching 1000 AU in 15 years. While this is a handy improvement over
Voyager 1 statistics - almost 2 orders of magnitude, this speedy robotic craft would still take thousands
of years to cross the black ocean to Proxima Centauri. Clearly interstellar flight will not be an easy
endeavor.
Background
The study of interstellar flight is not a new pursuit, and there have been numerous studies published in
the literature that consider how to approach robotic interstellar missions to some of our closest stellar
neighbors, with the objective of having transit times closer to the 100 year mark rather than thousands
of years. One of the most familiar studies is Project Daedelus [3] sponsored by the British Interplanetary
Society in 1970. The Daedelus study’s objective was to consider a 50-year robotic mission to Barnard’s
star, which is ~6 light years away. The spacecraft detailed in the report was quite massive weighing in at
54000 mT, 92% of which was propellant for the fusion propulsion system. For comparison, the
International Space Station is a “modest” ~400 mT, thus the Daedelus spacecraft is nearly the equivalent
of 150 International Space Stations. Project Longshot [4], a joint NASA-NAVY study in the late 1980’s to
develop a robotic interstellar mission to Alpha Centaury, produced a 400 mT (67% propellant) robotic
spacecraft that could reach Alpha Centaury in 100 years. At one ISS of mass, this vehicle is easier to
visualize than its heftier older cousin, Daedelus. There are many other studies that have been performed
over the years each having slight permutations on the answer, primarily depending on the integrated
efficiency of converting propellant mass directly into spacecraft kinetic energy (matter-antimatter being
among the best). All results are of course bounded by the speed of light, meaning earth-bound
observers will likely perceive interstellar transit times of outbound spacecraft in decades, centuries, or
more.
Alcubierre Metric
Is there a way within the framework of current physics models such that one could cross any given
cosmic distance in an arbitrarily short period of time, while never breaking the speed of light? This is the
question that motivated Miguel Alcubierre to develop and publish a possible mathematical solution to
the question back in 1994 [5]. Since the expansion and contraction of space does not have a speed limit,
Alcubierre developed a model (metric) within the domain of general relativity that uses this physics loop
hole and has almost all of the desired characteristics of a true interstellar space drive, much like what is
routinely depicted in science fiction as a “warp drive”.
The metric that is discussed in the paper is presented in equation 1. This uses the familiar coordinates,
(t, x, y, z) and curve x = xs(t), y = 0, z=0 where x is analogous to what is commonly referred to as a
spacecraft’s trajectory.
¤¤2 = −¤2¤¤2 + [¤¤ − ¤¤(¤)¤(¤¤)¤¤]2 + ¤¤2 + ¤¤2 (1)
In this metric, vs is defined as the velocity of the spacecraft’s moving frame, dxs/dt, and rs is the radial
position in the commoving spherical space around the spacecraft’s origin. The f(rs) term is a “top hat”
shaping function that is defined as:
¤(¤¤) =
tanh¤¤(¤¤ + ¤)¤ − tanh¤¤(¤¤ − ¤)¤
2 tanh(¤¤)
The parameters σ and R when mapped into the metric given in equation 1 control the wall thickness and
radius of the warp bubble respectively. For very large σ, the wall thickness of the bubble becomes
exceedingly thin, approaching zero thickness in the limit. The driving phenomenon that facilitates
speedy travel to stellar neighbors is proposed to be the expansion and contraction of space (York Time)
shown in equation 2. Figure 1 shows several surface plots of the York Time surrounding the spacecraft.
The region directly in front of the spacecraft experiences the most contraction of space, while the region
directly behind the spacecraft experiences the most expansion of space. The phenomenon reverses sign
at the x = xs symmetry surface. As the warp bubble thickness is decreased, the magnitude of the York
Time increases. This behavior when mapped over to the energy density requirements will be discussed
in the next section.
¤ = ¤¤
¤¤
¤¤
¤¤
¤¤¤
(2)
Figure 1: York Time, θ, is depicted for several different warp bubble wall thicknesses, σ.
The energy density shown in equation 3 for the field has a toroidal form that is axisymmetric about the
x-axis, and has a symmetry surface at x = xs. The energy density is exactly zero along the x-axis. For a
fixed target velocity vs and warp bubble radius R, varying the warp bubble thickness σ changes the
required peak energy density for the field at a fixed velocity. Figure 2 shows the relative change in
energy density for several warp bubble wall thicknesses. As is evident when comparing the magnitudes,
as the warp bubble is allowed to get thicker, the required density is drastically greatly reduced, but the
toroid grows from a thin equatorial belt to a diffuse donut. The advantage of allowing a thicker warp
bubble wall is that the integration of the total energy density for the right-most field is orders of
magnitude less that the left-most field. The drawback is that the volume of the flat space-time in the
center of the bubble is reduced. Still, a minimal reduction in flat space-time volume appears to yield a
drastic reduction in total energy requirement that would likely outweigh reduced real-estate. Sloppy
warp fields would appear to be “easier” to engineer than precise warp fields. Some additional appealing
characteristics of the metric is that the proper acceleration α is zero, meaning there is no acceleration
felt in the flat space-time volume inside the warp bubble when the field is turned on, and the coordinate
time t in the flat space-time volume is the same as proper time τ, meaning the clocks on board the
spacecraft proper beat at the same rate as clocks on earth.
¤00 = − 1
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Figure 2: Energy density, T00, is depicted for several different warp bubble wall thicknesses, σ.
The concept of operations as described by Alcubierre is that the spacecraft would depart the point of
origin (e.g. earth) using some conventional propulsion system and travel a distance d, then bring the
craft to a stop relative to the departure point. The field would be turned on and the craft would zip off
to its stellar destination, never locally breaking the speed of light, but covering the distance in an
arbitrarily short time period of time just the same. The field would be turned off a similar standoff
distance from the destination, and the craft would finish the journey conventionally. This approach
would allow a journey to say Alpha Centauri as measured by an earth bound observer (and spacecraft
clocks) measured in weeks or months, rather than decades or centuries.
A paradox identified in [6] is an issue that arises due to the symmetry of the energy density about the x
= xs surface. When the energy density is initiated, the choice in direction of the +x-axis is mathematically
arbitrary, so how does the spacecraft “know” which direction to go? Comparing Figure 1 to Figure 2
visually displays the asymmetry of the York Time and the symmetry of the energy density. Both sets of
three frames were purposely aligned to make direct comparison easier. This asymmetry/symmetry
paradox issue can be potentially resolved when considering the canonical form of the metric derived by
using a gauge transformation in [6] as shown in equation 4.
¤¤2 = (¤¤
2¤(¤¤)2 − 1) ¤¤¤ − ¤¤¤(¤¤)
¤¤
2¤(¤¤)2−1 ¤¤¤
2
− ¤¤2 + ¤¤2 + ¤¤2 (4)
Using this canonical form, the field potential φ and the boost γ can be determined using the standard
identity γ = cosh(φ). They are, respectively:
¤ = 1
2 ln|1 − ¤¤
2¤(¤¤)2| and trivially, ¤ = cosh ¤1
2 ln|1 − ¤¤
2¤(¤¤)2|¤
Using this new information, a modified concept of operations is proposed that may resolve the
asymmetry/symmetry paradox. In this modified concept of operations, the spacecraft departs earth and
establishes an initial sub-luminal velocity vi, then initiates the field. When active, the field’s boost acts on
the initial velocity as a scalar multiplier resulting in a much higher apparent speed, = γ vi as
measured by either an earth bound observer or an observer in the bubble. Within the shell thickness of
the warp bubble region, the spacecraft never locally breaks the speed of light and the net effect as seen
by earth/ship observers is analogous to watching a film in fast forward. Consider the following to help
illustrate the point – assume the spacecraft heads out towards Alpha Centauri and has a conventional
propulsion system capable of reaching 0.1c. The spacecraft initiates a boost field with a value of 100
which acts on the initial velocity resulting in an apparent speed of 10c. The spacecraft will make it to
Alpha Centauri in 0.43 years as measured by an earth observer and an observer in the flat space-time
volume encapsulated by the warp bubble. While this line of reason seems to resolve the paradox, it also
suggests that the York Time may not be the driving phenomenon, rather a secondary result. In this
physical explanation of the mathematics, the York Time might be thought of as perhaps a Doppler strain
on space as this spherical region is propelled through space. A pedestrian analog to use to help envision
this concept would be to consider the hydrodynamic pressure gradients that form around a spherical
body moving through a fluid – the front hemisphere has a high pressure region while the rear
hemisphere has a low pressure region. Analogously, the warp bubble travelling through space-time
causes space to pile up (contract) in front of the bubble, and stretch out (expand) behind the bubble.
Figure 3 depicts the boost field for the metric, and shows that the toroidal ring of energy density creates
spherical boost potentials surrounding a flat space-time volume. Also note pseudo-horizon at v2f(rs)2=1
where photons transition from null-like to space-like and back to null like upon exiting. This is not seen
unless the field mesh is set fine enough. The coarse mesh on the right did not detect the horizon.
Figure 3: Boost plots for the field
Chung-Freese Metric
Additional work has been published that expands the idea of a warp drive into higher dimensional
space-times. In 2000, Chung and Freese [7] published a higher dimensional space-time model that is a
modified Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric as shown in equation 5. The idea of a higher
dimensional model is that the standard 3+1 subspace exists as a “brane” embedded in this higher
dimensional space-time labeled the “bulk.” The size and number of extra dimensions are not explored in
this paper; rather the discussion will stick to the original form of the published metric.
¤¤2 = −¤2¤¤2 + ¤2(¤)
¤2¤¤ ¤¤2 + ¤¤2 (5)
The dX2 term represents the 3+1 space (on the brane), while the dU2 term represents the bulk with the
brane being located at U=0. The a(t) term is the scale factor, and k is a compactification factor for the
extra space dimensions. A conventional analogy to help visualize the brane-bulk relationship, consider a
2D sheet that exists in a 3D space. The 2D inhabitants if the “flat-land” subspace have a manifold that is
mapped out with the simple metric, dx2 + dy2, where this can be viewed as being analogous to the dX2
term in equation 5. The remainder of the 3D bulk space is mapped by the z-axis, and anything not on the
sheet would have a non-zero z-coordinate. This additional dz2 term is, from the perspective of the 2D
inhabitants, the dU2 term in equation 5. Anything not on the 2D sheet would be labeled as being in the
bulk with this simplified analogy.
In order to illustrate the mathematical relationship between a “hyper drive” and a warp drive, the nulllike
geodesics for the Chung-Freese metric will be considered and compared to the conjectured driving
phenomenon in the Alcubierre metric, the boost. The equation for the null-like geodesics for equation 5
is (setting c=1):
¤¤
¤¤
=
¤¤¤
¤(¤)
¤1 −
¤¤2
¤¤2
If dU/dt is set to 1, then a test photon that has a velocity vector orthogonal to the brane would have a
zero speed as measured on the brane, dX/dt=0. If a test photon has dU/dt=0, but arbitrarily large U
coordinate, dX/dt will be large, possibly >>1. Remember that c was set to 1, so dX/dt >1 is analogous to
the hyper-fast travel character of the Alcubierre metric. The behavior of the null-like geodesics in the
Chung-Freese metric becomes space-like as U gets large. The null-like geodesics in the Alcubierre metric
become space-like within the warp bubble, or where the boost gets large. This suggest that the
hyperspace coordinate serves the same role as the boost, and the two can be informally related by the
simple relationship ¤~¤¤. A large boost corresponds to an object being further off the brane and into
the bulk.
Mission Planning with a Warp-enabled System
To this point, the discussion has been centered on the interstellar capability of the models, but in the
interest of addressing the crawl-walk-run paradigm that is a staple of the engineering and scientific
disciplines, a more “domestic” application within the earth’s gravitational well will be considered. As a
preamble, recall that the driving phenomenon for the Alcubierre metric was speculated to be the boost
acting on an initial velocity. Can this speculation be shown to be consistent when using the tools of early
reference mission planning while considering a warp-enabled system? Note that the energy density for
the metric is negative, so the process of turning on a theoretical system with the ability to generate a
negative energy density, or a negative pressure as was shown in [8], will add an effective negative mass
to the spacecraft’s overall mass budget. In the regime of reference mission development using lowthrust
electric propulsion systems for in-space propulsion, planners will cast part of the trade space into
a domain that compares a spacecraft’s specific mass α to transit time. While electric propulsion has
excellent “fuel economy” due to high specific impulses that are measured in thousands of seconds, it
requires electric power measured in 100’s of kW to keep trip times manageable for human exploration
class payloads. Figure 4 shows a notional plot for a human exploration solar electric propulsion tug sized
to move payloads up and down the earth’s well – to L1 in this case. If time were of no consequence,
then much of this discussion would be moot, but as experience shows, time is a constraint that is traded
with other mission constraints like delivered payload, power requirements, launch and assembly
manifest, crew cycling frequency, mission objectives, heliocentric transfer dates, and more.
The specific mass of an element for an exploration architecture or reference mission can be determined
by dividing the spacecraft’s beginning of life wet mass by the power level. Specific mass can also be
calculated at the subsystem level if competing technologies are being compared for a particular
function, but for this exercise, the integrated vehicle specific mass will be used. The transit time for a
mission trajectory can then be calculated and plotted on a graph that compares specific mass to transit
time. This can be done for a few discrete vehicle configurations, and the curve that fits these points will
allow mission planners to extrapolate between the points when adding and subtracting mass, either in
the form of payload or subsystem, for a particular power level. Figure 4 shows a simple plot of this
approach for two specific impulse/efficiency values representing notional engine choices. It is apparent
from the graph that lower specific impulse yields reduced trip times, but this also reduces delivered
payload. However, if negative mass is added to the spacecraft’s mass budget, then the effective specific
mass and transit time are reduced without necessarily reducing payload. A question to pose is what
effect does this have mathematically? If energy is to be conserved, then ½ mv2 would need to yield a
higher effective velocity to compensate for apparent reduction in mass. Assuming a point design
solution of 5000kg BOL mass coupled to a 100kW Hall thruster system (lower curve), the expected
transit time is ~70 days for a specific mass of 50 kg/kW without the aid of a warp drive. If a very modest
warp drive system is installed that can generate a negative energy density that integrates to ~2000kg of
negative mass when active, the specific mass is dropped from 50 to 30 which yields a reduced transit
time of ~40 days. As the amount of negative mass approaches 5000 kg, the specific mass of the
spacecraft approaches zero, and the transit time becomes exceedingly small, approaching zero in the
limit. In this simplified context, the idea of a warp drive may have some fruitful domestic applications
“subliminally,” allowing it to be matured before it is engaged as a true interstellar drive system.
Figure 4: Trip time to L1 as a function of Beginning of Life (BOL) specific mass.
Advanced Propulsion Physics Lab: Eagleworks
A good question to ask at the end of this discussion is can an experiment be designed to generate and
measure a very modest instantiation of a warp field? As briefly discussed by the author in [9], a
Michelson-Morley interferometer may be a useful tool for the detection of such a phenomenon. Figure
5 depicts a warp field interferometer experiment that uses a 633nm He-Ne laser to evaluate the effects
of York Time perturbations within a small (~1cm) spherical region. Across 1cm, the experimental rig
should be able to measure space perturbations down to ~1 part in 10,000,000. As previously discussed,
the canonical form of the metric suggests that boost may be the driving phenomenon in the process of
physically establishing the phenomenon in a lab. Further, the energy density character over a number of
shell thicknesses suggests that a toroidal donut of boost can establish the spherical region. Based on the
expected sensitivity of the rig, a 1cm diameter toroidal test article (something as simple as a very highvoltage
capacitor ring) with a boost on the order of 1.0000001 is necessary to generate an effect that
can be effectively detected by the apparatus. The intensity and spatial distribution of the phenomenon
can be quantified using 2D analytic signal techniques comparing the detected interferometer fringe plot
with the test device off with the detected plot with the device energized. Figure 5 also has a numerical
example of what the before and after fringe plots may look like with the presence of a spherical
disturbance of the strength just discussed. While this would be a very modest instantiation of the
phenomenon, it would likely be Chicago pile moment for this area of research.
Figure 5: Warp Field Interferometer layout (here, φ is the phase angle).
Conclusion
In this paper, the mathematical characteristics of the Alcubierre metric were introduced and discussed,
the canonical form was presented and explored, and the idea of a warp drive was even considered
within a higher dimensional manifold. The driving phenomenon was conjectured to be the boost field as
opposed to purely the York Time which resolved the asymmetry/symmetry paradox. An early idea of a
warp drive was briefly discussed within the context of mission planning to elucidate the impact such a
subsystem would have on the mission trade space. Finally, a laboratory experiment that might produce
a modest instantiation of the phenomenon was discussed. While it would appear that the model has
nearly all the desirable mathematical characteristics of a true interstellar space drive, the metric has one
less appealing characteristic – it violates all three energy conditions (strong, weak, and dominant [9])
because of the need for negative energy density. This does not necessarily preclude the idea as the
cosmos is continually experiencing inflation as evidenced by observation, but the salient question is can
the idea be engineered to a point that it proves useful for exploration. A significant finding from this
effort new to the literature is that for a target velocity and spacecraft size, the peak energy density
requirement can be greatly reduced by allowing the wall thickness of the warp bubble to increase.
Analysis performed in support of generating the plots shown in Figures 1 and 2 also indicate a
corresponding reduction in total energy when converted from geometric units (G=c=1) to SI units, but
still show that the idea will not be an easy task. So it remains to be seen if the evolution of the phrase
penned by J. M. Barrie in the story Peter Pan will ever be uttered on the bridge of some majestic starship
just embarking on a daring mission of deep space exploration taking humanity beyond the bounds of
this solar system and boldly going out into the stars: “2nd star to the right, straight on till morning…”
Godspeed…
References
[1] Available at: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/fastfacts.html
[2] Nock, k. T., “TAU – A Mission to a Thousand Astronomical Units”, 19th AIAA/DGLR/JSASS
International Electric Propulsion Conference, Colorado Springs, (1987).
[3] Bond, Martin, “Project Daedalus: The Mission Profile,” JBIS: Project Daedalus Final Report (1978).
[4] Available at: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19890007533_1989007533.pdf
[5] Alcubierre, M., “The warp drive: hyper-fast travel within general relativity,” Class. Quant. Grav. 11,
L73-L77 (1994).
[6] White, H., “A Discussion on space-time metric engineering,” Gen. Rel. Grav. 35, 2025-2033 (2003).
[7] Chung, D. J. H., and Freese, K., “Can geodesics in extra dimensions solve the cosmological horizon
problem?,” Phys. Rev. D 62, 063513 (2000).
[8] White, H., Davis, E., “The Alcubierre Warp Drive in Higher Dimensional Space-time,” in proceedings
of Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF 2006), edited by M. S. El-Genk,
American Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, (2006).
[9] S.W. Hawking and G.F.R. Ellis, The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime, Cambridge University Press,
(1973).
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