BRIEF LAYMAN’S SUMMARY
This paper is primarily concerned with the energy that is inherent in the vacuum. This energy is present even at absolute zero of temperature. For this reason it is called the Zero Point Energy (ZPE). The origin of the ZPE may be traced to the initial expansion of the cosmos. In the same way that energy is put into the fabric of a rubber band when it is stretched, or into the fabric of a balloon when it is inflated, the fabric of space also had energy invested into it at its original expansion. The process whereby the potential energy of the stretching is changed into the kinetic energy of the ZPE is explained in this paper. This process does not occur instantaneously but takes time to accomplish in the same way that a pan of food in the oven takes time to heat. As a consequence, the strength of the ZPE has built up with time. The form of the energy in the ZPE has been demonstrated to be primarily electromagnetic fields and/or waves of all wavelengths.
The evidence presented in this paper indicates that the universe expanded out to a maximum size and then became relatively static. Narliker and Arp demonstrated that a static cosmos was stable against collapse, but would oscillate slightly about its average position. As a consequence the energy per unit volume or energy density of the ZPE will oscillate about an average value once its maximum has been attained. This occurs because the ZPE energy per unit volume is slightly greater when the cosmos was at its minimum size, and slightly less at the cosmos maximum.
This paper demonstrates that there is a link between five physical quantities and the Zero Point Energy. These quantities are Planck’s constant, h, the speed of light, c, atomic masses, m, the rate of ticking of atomic clocks, t, which includes radiometric clocks, and the redshift, z. Any ZPE variation over time will result in a variation in these quantities as has been discussed by a number of researchers and referenced here. Data from the five main physical quantities and some other atomic constants support this. They indicate that the ZPE energy density was at a maximum around 1970, followed by a slow decline. Because the universe may be oscillating in several different modes, the precise form of future trends is currently undetermined. However, data can trace the oscillation back at least as far as 1650 BC with certainty, and probably as far as 2600 BC. These data support the concepts of Narliker and Arp. Astronomical data define the exact form of the curve prior to this and back to the origin of the cosmos. This approach with the ZPE therefore permits an explanation of the trends in five different sets of data over a long period which many paradigms struggle to account for, or treat dismissively. It provides a physical reason behind the observed variations in the constants, and opens up a potentially fruitful line of enquiry.