Hi, my name is Horst. I am a retired Engineer (and aspiring Writer/Philosopher ) currently residing in Victoria, Australia. Amongst other things, I am in the process of writing a book: "A Theory of Light" ... I started this project in June 2021 and finished the first draft mid 2022, ready for a review now, after letting it "ferment" for a year or so 😀 I will publish a few selected chapters of this book here on horst.asia ... for a "slow online release" .

The following is a peek preview into the first few pages ...

1.0 Introduction

When I was young(er), I studied Electronics and Micro Computer Technology in Germany. A large part of my studies then, focused on electro-magnetic phenomena, photons and electrons. After obtaining my degree as an engineer (Dipl. Ing.) I engaged in some postgraduate studies of physics (Nuclear Technology). It was also the start of the Computer Age and I was intensely involved with designing computers and writing software. This lead me onto a dual path of electronics and software design ... all the while, still being interested in physics, music, arts and philosophy.

During my 40++ years of designing hardware and software for micro controllers and signal processors, I learned how to efficiently analyse systems, how to work out the essential components that make the system tick and how to find ways to model the system in hardware/software, in order to implement certain desired functionalities, read sensors and control actuators etc. This ability to analyse systems turned out to be a great skill in other areas of life ... and in particular in "understanding" life and the universe itself.

It always bugged me that physics did not provide any detailed answers as to "how magnetism actually works" or "what makes electrons repel each other" or "how gravity works" ... "what a photon is" ... and it also bugged me how physicists came up with unsightly concepts such as "wave-particle duality" , spacetime ... and the likes.

I decided to dig a little bit ... and in the spirit of Richard Feynman (the triangulation method ... creating new knowledge by "triangulating" from existing knowledge) ... I attempted to figure out what those photons and electrons are really all about (!)

To do this, one has to challenge (completely ignore) some existing "opinions" that are presented as "irrefutable knowledge", in particular the opinion that photons travel in empty space and not in a "medium". I came to the conclusion that the electron (together with the positron) and the photon, are ultimately the key to understanding the universe.

I realised soon too, that I don't really have the skills to provide solid mathematical proof of the concepts I developed during the "journey of triangulation and discovery", but I do have enough understanding of physics, to feel reasonably confident in the "outcome" of this journey and the realisations arising from it (!)

However ... as I kept learning more and more about this subject, I also realised that there are many other like minded people looking at similar concepts, albeit from different angles ... so, this is just one of the many "lines of thought".