On the Ether Problem in Physics: A Heuristic Viewpoint

Inspired by Mach’s philosophical standpoint, Einstein constructed the theory of special relativity, which has been shown to be reliable both theoretically and experimentally. However, the negative conclusion regarding the absolute equivalence of relatively moving inertial frames, as suggested by the twin paradox thought experiment, has not been explicitly reflected at the level of physical theory. The present work attempts to address this issue and includes the following investigations: (1) a reconsideration of the ether problem; (2) derivations of the mass–energy relation and centrifugal acceleration based on an ether contraction framework; (3) a heuristic interpretation of the invariance of the speed of light and inertial forces. It is hoped that this work may offer some conceptual insight to readers interested in this problem.