Propagation-Based General Relativity

Abstract

It is assumed that the radial propagation of light with respect to the naive coordinate system of the observer is uniform and isotropic and that the physical rate of propagation of light is the same for all observers. In accelerated frames of reference, these assumptions lead to the findings that the measured value of $c$ is a function of the gravitational energy per unit mass (GEPUM) of the observer, and that this is due to the physical characteristics of the standard measuring-devices being a function of their GEPUM. The consequences of these findings include observers who at rest with respect to each other assigning different values to the same physical separation, the mixed metric tensor ${g^μ}_ν$ describing how gravitation affects measuring-devices, and the De-Broglie wavelength being a function of an object's GEPUM. How the measured values of various types of physical quantities are affected is described. The Schwarzschild solution is re-examined: The physical size of radial coordinate $2m$ is 0, a traveler must perceive himself to go an infinite distance to reach the radial coordinate of $2m$, and gravitational self-potential energy reaches a minimal value at the radial coordinate $3m$. Therefore, black holes do not exist in this theory.