Measuring Vacuum Permeability on Mercury

The laws of physics are assumed to be universal. This means that experiments performed on Earth should yield identical results when performed on Mercury even though Mercury is more influenced by the sun than we are. The fact that Earth and Mercury are different reference frames shouldn't effect locally measured results.

But how does this work when we make experiments related to the reference frame itself? Will we still get identical results on Mercury and Earth? For instance, will vacuum permeability (μ0) be measured to be different on Mercury?

Vacuum permeability is a measure of how much drag charged particles experience per unit of magnetic force they produce when moving through a vacuum. This makes μ0 a measure of space; the reference frame within which all things are measured.

Given an aether made up of low energy photons and neutrinos, μ0 is an indirect measure of the number of photons available. My theory predicts that this number is higher on Mercury than on Earth. But this doesn't necessarily mean that μ0 ends up with a different value when measured on Mercury. This becomes clear when we consider how μ0 is measured, and how the aether's composition influences the various parts of the experimental setup.

Drag per unit of magnetic force can be found with a setup that measures speeds of ions and their associated magnetic fields. If we know the inertial mass of our ions, we can calculate their drag from their deceleration.

We don't have to measure everything exactly to find out if vacuum permeability is equal on Earth and Mercury. As long as every step is identically performed, we only have to note whether our ions decelerate differently and whether the magnetic field produced is different. If there's any change in either of these two values, we've been able to detect a difference in the properties of space, aka aether.

For our purpose, we need a vacuum chamber through which we can send carefully manufactured ions of homogenous mass, charge and velocity. This can be used to measure the deceleration of our ions as well as their magnetic fields.

Positive ion moving from right to left

First, we make the experiment on Earth. Then, we send the equipment to Mercury for an identical run. All input factors are identical, so the only possible differences will be in measured results.

At this point, we need to keep in mind the Mercury anomaly, and how we solve this problem by having the aether change the size of things. Everything is a little smaller and a little faster on Mercury, including the astronaut in charge of the experiment and the experimental setup. But this is not noticeable by the astronaut. This change is only detectable by observers on Earth.

Everything is a little smaller and faster on Mercury because the aether is a little richer in photons than on Earth. Also of importance to this experiment is the hypothesis that photons and neutrinos don't change in size due to changes in the aether. Photons are not only more numerous than on Earth, they have slightly more momentum as well. But aether particles are not directly detectable, so we cannot measure this difference directly. This is why we're measuring μ0 rather than counting and weighing particles in the aether.

Let's now consider what the setup does, and what it measures on Mercury to see if results come out different. Seen from Earth, everything is a little quicker and shorter. The ion is also a little less massive. But this is as expected. What we're interested in is what the observer on Mercury sees, and what our setup registers in terms of deceleration and magnetic force.

Our theory tells us that the aether on Mercury is relatively rich in photons, and that each photon has slightly more momentum relative atoms and electrons. This means that our ions will experience more drag if they are unchanged in size. However, our ions are particles of inertial matter, so they are not unchanged in size. They are smaller, and this makes it more likely than not that there's no measurable difference in drag.

The magnetic field produced would also have been greater if the ions were unchanged in size. But again, we can argue that the most likely outcome is no change. If so, we can can conclude that μ0 is a universal constant. Its exact value is determined by the overarching principle in physics that tells us that local measurements are independent of reference frames. Even experiments where the reference frame itself is being measured will yield identical results regardless of where we are in the universe, or how fast we are moving.