Confusion of Light-as-Particle without Mass = Special Relativity

            Who is main responsible for the present crisis of modern physics initiated in 1905? 

The present crisis of modern physics witnessed by all prominent physicists originates from Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity SR from 1905, which made Galilean invariant Newtonian mechanics incompatible with Lorentzian invariant propagation of light, with Lorentz winning the game replacing Newtonian mechanics by a new form of Lorentz invariant relativistic mechanics with new strange phenomena of space contraction and time dilation. SR thus made modern physics strange and irrational, 20 years later built in as key features of the new quantum mechanics, while the signum of classical physics is naturalness and rationality. 

SR shared these qualities with artistic expressions of modernity like cubism, dadaism, free form poetry and atonal music, where they had a role to serve, while not so well in science. 

SR thus appeared as a monumental sacrifice in science and it is natural to ask if it was necessary. We recall that Newtonian mechanics is material in the sense that it describes interaction of bodies with presence in space as presence of matter with positive mass, while light is immaterial in the sense of having zero mass without material presence.

This makes a difference as concerns choice of spatial coordinate system required for mathematical modeling. In the case of Newtonian mechanics it is natural to connect coordinate systems to spatial presence of matter, but this rationale is lacking for immaterial light. This was the dilemma Einstein faced in 1905 as a young patent clerk with ambition to become a physicist, which led him to SR. 

Einstein derived the Lorentz transformation as the basis of SR with a conception of physics as consisting of events recorded by a spatial Euclidean coordinate $x$ and a time coordinate $t$ as the pair $(x,t)$. An event does not have any spatial extension because only a single $x$-coordinate is sufficient to describe the event. Einstein thus considered spatial presence as points without spatial extension. While in Newtonian mechanics matter in the form of point masses can be used as shorthand for a material objects with very small spatial extension, while for light it leads to a conception of light-as-particle, to be compared with light-as-wave with a wave having spatial extension.

Einstein thus derives the Lorentz transformation viewing light-as-particle without mass and we shall now see that this leads astray into non-physics because the notion of a particle without mass is non-physical.

The crucial aspect is that a particle-with-mass has an identity by occupying a unique point in space not available to another particle, while a particle-without-mass does not have such hegemony. In quantum mechanics this is expressed as unique spatial occupancy of fermions like electrons with mass, but not by bosons like photons as light-as-particle without mass. Unique occupancy of space is a prime objective of the national state. Or unique occupancy of a position in academics, like a chaired professorship.

Einstein considers two Euclidean coordinate systems (1d for simplicity) with coordinates $(x,t)$ and $(x^\prime ,t^\prime )$ moving with velocity $v$ with respect to each other, with origins $x=0$ and $x^\prime =0$ coinciding when $t=0$ and $t^\prime =0$. 

Einstein's considers light-as-particle emitted at $x=0$ at time $t=0$ following as light ray the path $x=t$ with unit speed of light, and similarly light-as-particle emitted at $x^\prime =0$ at time $t^\prime =0$ following as light ray the path $x^\prime =t^\prime $ again with unit speed of light. 

Einstein then identifies the two light rays and then derives the Lorentz transformation imposing strange effects of space contraction and time dilation. 

The identification of the two light rays is the critical step towards SR, and this assumes light-as-particle, because with light-as-wave with spatial extension the emissions of the light rays will correspond to different physical processes and so the light rays will be different and the Lorentz transformation will have no role to play.

Einstein acted as a true magician deriving strange new effects from the simplest possible of assumption of a light ray following a straight line $x=t$ in a Euclidean $(x,t)$ system. To get anything strange out of this simple physics requires a strange assumption in addition, and that was to identify two different light rays to be the same as the essence of SR: Same physics in different physical systems = strange physics.

Summary: In Newtonian mechanics point particles with positive mass can be used as mathematical models without confusion since particles with mass have physical identity, but light-as-particle without mass lacks identity which causes all the confusion brought by SR. To view SR as real physics requires explaining the real physics of light-as-particle without mass and without physical identity. Nobody has done that. 

Possible way out of the crisis: Give up SR, keep Galilean invariant Newtonian mechanics and view propagation of light from a perspective of a many-aether theory as outlined in Many-Minds Relativity.