a. A new frame of reference
An inherent consequence of describing physical reality as contracting with time is that the velocity of light, c, must be considered to be changing in size with the passage of time. This does not contradict special relativity theory's assumption of a constant speed for light in a vacuum however, since all measurements of the speed of light are made within the context of the present time frame in which everything is changing in the same way. When a beam of light is released in the past and the distance it moves through is measured now, from the time it was released until now it and the space through which it has traveled will have changed at the same rate as has everything else in the present, thus they maintain a constant size relative to everything else in the present. The contracting nature of things does, however, provide a reference frame, based upon the relative size of the distance scale that applies when measuring the size of space at each point in time, for defining the past, present, and future. Each point in space and time can then be described in terms of unique spatial coordinates. This is an advancement over general relativity's space-time manifold in the sense that the time coordinate of general relativity can now be replaced by a multiplier of the three spatial coordinates, this because the past existence of space and entities, while not directly observable from the present, can be described in terms of size relative to the present existence of the same space and entities, as can their future existence. With this approach it also becomes possible that space and entities, measured in terms of the relative size of the relevant space-time reference frame at each moment in time, exist objectively, independently and simultaneously, though with different sizes, positions, and rates of contraction relative to the present.
Recently it has been proposed by some physicists, John Moffat et al (1999) and later Joao Magueijo, that the speed of light was much faster at the beginning of the Universe, a point of view that obviously reflects the shrinking concept put forward here. However, there is an important difference in what I am proposing in that it is the size of space itself that contracts, not just the speed of light. This means that there is a uniform contraction of all space as measured from all reference frames along with a contraction in the speed of light, and thus the velocity of light, while contracting in size relative to it's own past, remains constant in size relative to the size of space in all reference frames at the point in time considered. Consequently, special relativity's assumption of a constant speed for light remains intact. This approach then gives the main benefit of having a faster speed for light at the beginning of the Universe, namely the uniform distribution of mass and energy within the Universe, without the pitfalls associated with breaking relativitiy's assumption of a constant speed for light.
b. Time acceleration
One of the benefits of the contraction approach to understanding the apparent expansion of the Universe is that it leads to the possibility of describing unique accelerated time reference frames. This becomes possible with the contraction approach because the frame of reference relative to which time and space are measured is more precisely defined than with the conventional interpretation of relativity, where it is simply the velocity of light. In the contraction approach the basic frames of reference are the velocity of light and the rate at which it contracts with time, this defining the size of space at any given time, and also, the size of space relative to the overall size of the Universe.
Accelerated time reference frames have characteristics that are opposite to those of the dilated time reference frames of special relativity theory. For an accelerated frame, time is accelerated, mass is diminished, and length is expanded. As I will soon explain, while it is not obvious that it is possible to define accelerated time reference frames with the conventional approach to relativity because of the relative nature of time reference frames, accelerated time reference frames are a natural consequence of the contraction approach to describing dilated time reference frames.
I believe that the concept of accelerated frames has not previously been considered with relativity theory because of the presumption that the relative nature of motion precludes the possibility that accelerated time reference frames can be uniquely defined. With the contraction approach to describing relativity it becomes more obvious that accelerated time reference frames exist. This is because with the contraction interpretation it is possible and necessary to describe dilated time reference frames in terms of a combination of two reference frames, each of which can be described in terms of a size relative to the size of a non-dilated frame. One frame is expanded by a factor of u relative to the size of a non-dilated frame, where u is the time dilation factor. This reflects the larger distance scale of the past. The other frame is contracted by a factor of 1/u relative to the size of the non-dilated frame, this reflecting a contraction rate based upon the larger distance scale of the past, but within the context of the smaller distant scale of the present. It is the differences in the sizes of these frames and the resulting differences in their rates of contraction that cause the velocity of one entity relative to another which is associated with time dilation. This is described in detail in the application of the contraction concept to the principles of special relativity theory in the supplementary section titled "Basics of Contraction".
In these accelerated time reference frames lay the possibility of an alternative approach to describing quantum phenomena, one which is directly derived from relativity theory. This can be done with the contraction approach to relativity and not the conventional approach for two reasons. First, the existence of accelerated states enables entities to traverse space at velocities that seem to be faster than the velocity of light, though they are not. Increased rates of traversing space result from an increase in the rate at which time passes for the entity. Secondly, because of the construction of space-time as determined by expansion and contraction, motion naturally occurs in a wave like fashion. These are not the de Broglie waves of quantum theory. They are longitudinal waves which are part of an extended (in space and time) nature of mass and energy, and which are structured as waves because of the expanding and contracting nature of reality. With this approach, the quantum and relativistic natures of motion are simply the result of two different aspects of the same phenomenon; variations in rates for the passage of time.
The existence of accelerated time reference frames also leads to the possibility that the rate at which time passes for the Universe as a whole is not necessarily uniform and constant, and this then leads to the realization that the faster speed of light at the beginning of the Universe as discussed earlier can also be described in terms of an accelerated rate for the passage of time in the early Universe, this interpretation maintaining true consistency with special relativity.
c. Anti-gravity
At first glance it might seem that the contraction model for the structure of space-time fundamentally changes the nature of space as compared to a conventional model in that in the contraction model the amount of space between entities would seem to naturally increase, since our standard of measure is contracting. Consequently, in the absence of a force that attracts entities toward each other, entities separated by any amount of space will always appear to move apart, and at a rate that is dependent upon the distance between the entities, with the greater distance causing the greater velocity. However, Einstein's explanation of gravity, his "Theory of General Relativity", does predict this expansion.
The concepts of contraction and time acceleration can readily be applied to the description of the space-time of gravitational fields, and can, in fact, provide a basis for describing anti-gravity, revealing the possibility that this is the phenomena behind the apparent expansion of distances between galaxies that is presently observed and also the rapid initial inflation of the Universe.
d. Beginnings of the Universe
Here is a possible explanation of the nature of the initial expansion of the Universe using the contraction approach. As explained in the introduction, the contraction of the size of space relative to itself and relative to the overall size of the Universe can be considered to have begun simultaneously with an initial expansion of the Universe at the beginning of time within the Universe. This expansion is today conventionally termed "inflation" (Alan Guth, Inflationary Theory, cir.1979). That there is an expansion of the Universe accompanying this contraction at the beginning means that the Universe as we know it can still be considered to have sprung from an initial singularity. As mentioned earlier, during this inflationary period there is a rapid contraction of the standard of measure (the velocity of light) for the size of space, this eventually settling down to a very slow rate of contraction. This inflationary period can also be considered to be the result of a rapid time acceleration applied to the initial singularity, which itself can be considered to have been in a massive time dilation before the occurence of the time acceleration. Thus, the resulting Universe that we perceive is the result of a massive time acceleration applied to a singularity in a massive time dilation.
