Abstract

This paper argues that the infinities that have plagued previous attempts to quantize gravity can be avoided by changing the causal sequence by which the quantum field produces the attractive force. Instead of acting directly on matter particles, as with electromagnetism, we are proposing that in the case of gravity the quantum field acts indirectly through a change in the speed of light. This difference permits us to use the same explanation for the inverse square laws that characterize both forces, while giving unique explanations for the unique properties of the gravitational field: its relative weakness, its non-absorbability and its ability to produce a change in the clock rate of matter particles and a curvature of light path. At the same time, our proposal that the speed of light controls the energy content of matter particles creates a central role for the isotropic light speed frame. Although this frame cannot be detected, the energy content of matter particles will be affected by their motion relative to this frame. In this way the equivalence of gravity and acceleration, and the requirement for energy exchange to produce the latter, can be explained.