Abstract

Previous papers have shown that the only postulate on the velocity of light that is consistent with all of the experiments hitherto analyzed is the universal time postulate on the velocity of light which was proposed by Moon and Spencer in 1956. This paper will concentrate on the interpretation of the universal time postulate. Light travels outward from its source in a spherical wave whose radius always increases at velocity c. as suggested by Huygens. The center of this sphere is always at the source. If the source travels at a constant velocity. this reduces to the corpuscular hypothesis of Newton. But if the source is accelerated. the result is slightly different than was suggested by either Huygens or Newton. It is this small difference which permits the synchronization of all moving clocks and makes possible the existence of clocks which tell universal time. Such clocks are now commercially available, controlled by the satellite system.