Gravitational forces and extended body response

The current theory of extended body response to gravitational forces (where "extended body" refers to real planetary and stellar objects, as distinct from abstract mass points or rigid bodies) dates back to the time of Isaac Newton. In this theory, the tide-raising forces represent the only forces originating in the gravitational environment that are able to produce detectable effects on and within extended bodies. This important conclusion survived the introduction of the general theory of relativity without modification. This standard model is not generally considered to be flawed. In this study I collect and systematize a large number of scientific observations that together indicate that the standard theory is incomplete; it fails to account for the real-world phenomena we observe. The approach taken to highlight the problems of the standard theory is transdisciplinary; results from three scientific areas of study are considered. These areas are 1) the physics of the Sun; 2) the study of terrestrial plate tectonics and earthquake occurrence; and 3) the atmospheric sciences. While the notion that the gravitational standard model may be flawed is controversial, there are common factors found linking the observational results in the different disciplines that provide strong support for this point of view. This thesis presents a new concept, in the form of a working hypothesis, that better accounts for the observations. Newtonian concepts of forces are employed to present and describe the new hypothesis; the relationship of the new hypothesis to relativistic gravitation theory is described in the penultimate chapter. The central idea of the working hypothesis is to parameterize the inertial reaction of a rotating, self-gravitating extended body to an external acceleration as a constant force throughout the body, while the force due to the external acceleration varies within the body as a function of the mass distribution. As with the Newtonian version of the standard theory, overall global cancellation of the applied force and the inertial reaction obtains. The working hypothesis departs from the standard model in predicting the existence of significant internal forces due to the external acceleration. Calculations of the sizes of the forces predicted demonstrate that the working hypothesis provides quantitatively reasonable explanations for a number of phenomena that are at present poorly understood. The origins of earthquake stresses and the triggering of earthquakes, the relationship of earthquakes to changes in the rotation of the Earth, the origins of solar variability, and the problem of the missing solar neutrinos are among the phenomena discussed here in relation to the working hypothesis. This thesis also contains a description of a statistical investigation designed to detect one possible effect predicted on the basis of the working hypothesis. The experiment is a search for pattern in the timing of the largest earthquakes of the Southern California seismic region. The test reveals a statistically significant clustering of solar times for the earthquakes; the random probability of occurrence for the distribution of 66 earthquakes is 4%. There is a significant tendency for these large earthquakes to occur around times of sunrise and sunset. The parameter employed (the solar hour angle) is identified with the direction of the largest applied external gravitational acceleration, that of the Sun. Under the working hypothesis, the solar influence should be much greater than that of the Moon. However, under the standard model, the Moon's effect should be stronger, since the lunar tides are more than twice as large as the solar tides. An examination of the distribution of lunar hour angles for the earthquake times reveals a distribution that is consistent with a random process; the random probability of occurrence for that distribution is 76%. The working hypothesis is in conflict with both Newtonian and relativistic gravitational theories as these are currently interpreted. In relativity, extended bodies are considered to fall freely along geodesics of curved spacetime, and no internal forces other than those due to the tides are predicted. However, there is no direct observational evidence to support this conclusion. On the other hand, as shown in Chapters 3 and 4, there are dozens of published scientific investigations that provide evidence to the contrary. The working hypothesis presented in this thesis has the virtue of being test able. If the hypothesis is correct, then application of the physical concept may lead to improved forecasting and prediction of atmospheric and solar variability, and to improved capabilities for earthquake prediction.