Mercury's Orbit

Mercury makes its rounds around the Sun a little faster than predicted by Newton.

This is currently explained using a formula in which time and space is bent. However, this can also be explained using the relativity laid out in The Velcro Cosmos.

In the Velcro universe, the size of things varies according to the availability of neutrinos. This is a direct consequence of the way the electric force is explained.

In a region of space where there are relatively few neutrinos, things are smaller and clocks go faster.

Since orbits are energy neutral in the sense that no energy is added or removed from an orbiting body, the size of an orbiting object remains constant as far as energy goes.

The only thing that affects the size of an orbiting body is the density of neutrinos.

Close to the Sun, gravity pulls in zero-point photons so that the density of photons in its vicinity goes up. This reduces the relative density of neutrinos in the same region.

Things are therefore a little smaller, and clocks go a little faster close to the Sun.

Using a clock on Earth to measure Mercury's orbit, we find that Mercury takes the rounds a little faster than expected using Newton's formula alone. However, if we use a clock on Mercury, things will be exactly as predicted by Newton. Relative to a clock on Mercury, it is all the other planets that are too slow.

Again we see that no space-time continuum is required to explain relativistic effects. What ties time and distance together is not some fancy geometry but the fact that time is a function of size. Time and distance are a consequence of the electric force, and therefore mutually affected by changes in the electrical environment, of which the density of neutrinos is the primary factor.