RE: Doubts About Modern Physics
There is nothing like doing some experiments to change one's mind. As per the previous thread, Doubts About Modern Physics, I had thought that the time constant for a DC RC electrical circuit should be RC/(V/4.94), rather than simply RC. This was so because in the theoretical paradigm I work with, called the Reciprocal System, resistance has the dimensions (t^2)/(s^3) and capacitance has the dimension of space s (as in the cgs system). Therefore, it would seem to be necessary to divide by voltage, t/(s^2), in order to get time, t, as the result. The previous thread went on and on and so finally I decided to take a break from theoretical physics and do some old-fashioned experimental physics.
I purchased the necessary circuit components and a Rigol 1102E digital storage oscilloscope. I tried various ordinary and electrolytic capacitors and different resistors and voltage sources. To my astonishment, actually, I found that in all cases the time constant turned out to be RC, and not RC/(V/4.94). I'm still waiting to do a test with a vacuum capacitor--this might have a time constant inversely related to voltage. We'll see.
So now I've had to modify the deductions from the Postulates of the Reciprocal System to conclude that capacitance has the dimensions (s^3)/t. This is so because the permittivity, (s^2)/t, must be included (except possibly for a vacuum capacitor). Therefore the cgs units are wrong and Larson's previous deductions and mine in this area have to corrected. I've written the third revision of "Theory of the Capacitor" and posted it to my theoretical physics blog site, http://transpower.wordpress.com (and uploaded it here as an attachment). Please note, however, that there has been no change in the theoretical physics concepts involved: the Reciprocal System still says that massless, chargeless electrons are stored in a capacitor, not charged electrons. We also still do not agree with the conventional explanation of the two capacitor problem: which says that charge conservation holds, not energy conservation. The Reciprocal System says that energy conservation holds, and that the electrical quantity increases during the process--the electrons are derived from the second capacitor's plates and connecting wires and are pushed into the second capacitor by the voltage; the energy lost by the first capacitor is gained by the second capacitor.
