"Light Moves in a Sine Wave and has Amplitude?"

by Ted Huntington
11/07/2003


Do light waves have amplitude? Since the time of Isaac Newton in the late 1600's, the majority of people have supported the idea that light travels in a "transverse" sine wave with an amplitude equal to the wavelength. But is this really true? Does light travel in a sine wave? Does light have an amplitude?

Amplitude is measured as the height of a sine wave. If a light wavelength is 1 meter long, the light wave is also 1 meter tall (amplitude). Is this light wave amplitude actually observed?

When people measured light, they found that light (no matter if radio, x-ray, or visible frequency) leaves a source uniformly in all directions. If the light was moving in a sine wave, people may expect to measure the light in wave shapes, but what is measured as a light detector is moved away from a source is that the amount of light is equal in all directions from the source. In addition, as a person moves away from a source of light, the amount of light measured becomes less by an amount determined by the square root of the distance from the light source. Where, then, is any wave shape measured?

If light does travel in a sine wave with an amplitude, people would expect to find light emitted from a source to be detected in a sine shape, but what is detected is a straight line, no sine wave shape has ever been measured. The amount of light from any source of any frequency is always measured as being equal in all directions.

I am sure that if photons with radio frequency (perhaps 1 meter) were passed through a concave glass lens, there again, would be no measured amplitude, only a standard distribution of light as measured through a lens.

I think that, in light of this explanation, people should accept that light does not move in a sine wave, and has no amplitude.



Rejected by Nature Magazine 11/11/2003:
November 11, 2003

The Editor thanks you for your communication but regrets that he is unable to publish it. He regrets also that he cannot enter into further correspondence on this matter.
Nature Administration



Rejected by Science Magazine 11/14/2003:

14 November 2003

Dr. Ted Huntington
1408 Stanford Street
Irvine CA 92612


Ref: 1093678 and 1093680

Dear Dr. Huntington:

Thank you for sending your papers entitled "Light Moves in a Sine Wave and has Amplitude?" and "Is All Matter Made of Light?" I regret to say that it is not the sort of work we publish.

We appreciate your interest in Science.

Sincerely,

Phillip D. Szuromi, Ph.D.
Supervisory Senior Editor