About the author

  Oleg Jefimenko  

Oleg D. Jefimenko (Oct. 14, 1922 - May 14, 2009)

Professor Emeritus at West Virginia University
Professor Emeritus Vordiplom: University of Goettingen (Germany), 1950
B.A.: Lewis and Clark College, 1952
M.A.: University of Oregon, 1954
Ph.D.: University of Oregon, 1956

Wikipedia Biography

Research Interests:

I am currently engaged in the development of the theory of electromagnetic retardation and relativity. Perhaps the most important recently discovered aspect of the now evolving theory of electromagnetic retardation is that this theory leads to, and duplicates, many electromagnetic relations that are customarily considered to constitute consequences of relativistic electrodynamics. It is now clear that relativistic electromagnetism and relativistic mechanics can be derived from Maxwellian electromagnetic theory and electromagnetic force relations via the theory of electromagnetic retardation without any postulates, conjectures, or hypotheses. As a result, the theory of relativity acquires a new mathematical and physical base which provides a previously unforeseen means for formulating, developing, and interpreting relativistic electromagnetism, relativistic mechanics, and relativistic gravitation.

I am also working on the generalization of Newton's gravitational theory to time-dependent systems. By analyzing causal gravitational relations, I find that there is no objective reason for abandoning Newton's force-field gravitational theory in favor of a metric gravitational theory, and that Newton's theory must be developed and expanded to its logical and mathematical conclusion by making it compatible with the principle of causality and by making it applicable to time-dependent gravitational interactions. I base such an expansion, or generalization, on the existence of the second gravitational force field, the "cogravitational, or Heaviside's, field" (except for a numerical factor, the cogravitational field is the same as the "gravimagnetic" field of the general relativity theory). This field was first predicted by Oliver Heaviside in his 1893 article "A Gravitational and Electromagnetic Analogy" (click HEAVISIDE to see this remarkable but, regrettably, long-neglected article).

The fundamental equations of the generalized Newton's theory are causal gravitational equations expressing time-dependent gravitational and cogravitational fields in the form of retarded integrals. For time- independent systems, these equations reduce to the conventional equations of the original Newton's theory. An important aspect of the generalized Newton's theory is that gravitational interactions involve not one single force of attraction but at least five different forces. Several consequences of the generalized Newton's theory are similar to certain consequences of Einstein's general relativity theory. An important consequence of the generalized Newton's theory is the possibility of the existence of stellar antigravitational mass configurations.

Books
Book Chapters
Journal Articles

Awards
Sigma Xi Prize, 1956
Special Merit Award, 1971 AAPT Apparatus Competition
Third Prize, 1973 AAPT Apparatus Competition