Torsion Field Theory

Core tenets:

Spin-spin interaction can be transmitted through space at speeds up to
10^9 the speed of light via a special kind of field, making possible FTL
travel, ESP, homeopathy, levitation, and other paranormal phenomena.

Year proposed: 	1987

A. Akimov, G. Shipov

Current proponents:
	

    * A. Akimov
    * G. Shipov
    * A. A. Shpilman
    * R. M. Kiehn
    * J. Sarfatti
    * R. N. Boyd


Torsion field, also called axion field, spin field, spinor field, and
microlepton field is a pseudoscientific concept loosely based on
Einstein-Cartan theory and some unorthodox solutions of Maxwell's
equations. The torsion field concept was conceived in the Soviet Union
by a group of physicists in the 1980s. The group, led by Anatoly Akimov
and Gennady Shipov, began the research as the state-sponsored Center for
Nontraditional Technologies, but was disbanded in 1991 when their
research was exposed as fraud and embezzlement of state funding, only to
reemerge again as a private enterprise; The International Institute for
Theoretical and Applied Physics (not to be confused with the identically
named institute at Iowa State University).[1]

Contents

    * 1 Theories
          o 1.1 Shipov formalism
    * 2 Criticism and controversy
    * 3 References
    * 4 External links

Theories

Shipov formalism

Unlike the mechanism attributed to quantum spin effects, the torsion
fields involve the use of long-range (Pauli) classical spinners to
describe such interactions. Here, focus is not on the Dirac equation to
describe fermion spin, but on a classical analogue, the
Bargmann-Michel-Telegedi (BMT) equation to account for spin effects. [2]
BMT follows from a quasi-classical extension of the Dirac equation with
an added Pauli term, and has been responsible for accounting for the
anomalous magnetic moment of the electron, and confirms the effect of
radiative self-polarisation, both without the necessity for the standard
application of quantum electrodynamics.

Torsion fields also have the important characteristic of being affected
by the specific topology/geometry of macroscopic objects and biological
fields[3], a feature which has been corroborated by the work of Glen
Rein on DNA irradiated by non-Hertzian energy emanating from various
geometric patterns[4].


Criticism and controversy

A field is simply an assignment of a quantity (vector, tensor, or
spinor) to every point of space. The word torsion refers to any variable
that describes rotation. Thus, torsion fields exist. For example, an
electromagnetic wave with circular polarisation can be described as a
"torsion field", although such description is not used in physics.
Spinor fields, in particular, Fermionic fields, also exist and are a
useful tool in particle physics and quantum field theory. However,
advocates of the spin field or torsion field theories claim that
spin-spin interaction (itself a well-studied quantum phenomenon) can be
transmitted through space just like electromagnetic waves, but does not
carry any mass or energy, only information, and does so at speeds up to
109 of light speed. At the same time they claim that it is carried by
neutrinos (which have both mass and energy), and that it does not
interact with matter but, at the same time, can be generated and
registered easily.[5]

The basic postulates of these theories are full of contradictions and
scientifically nonsensical statements, but their applications take this
a step further. Torsion field theory was hailed as the explanation for
homeopathy, telepathy, levitation, clairvoyance, and other paranormal
activity and ESP, which also would allow the humankind to harness it,
building everything from miracle cure devices (including devices that
cure alcohol addiction[6]) to working stargates[7], UFO propulsion
analogs and superweapons. Many such devices, in particular the miracle
cure boxes, have been manufactured and sold, and some appear to work due
to placebo effect, and the torsion field scientists have been working
hard to obtain large-scale government and military contracts.

A classic example of such fraudulent application is an experiment
conducted in 1994 by the Russian private research group "VENT" (VEnture
for Non-traditional Technologies[8]) which claimed to lower the
resistivity of copper as much as 80 times after exposing it to a torsion
fields generator. The group applied to the government of Russia for
funding to open a factory, and promised great savings in energy
consumption. The samples of exposed and unexposed copper were
independently measured in presence of the Vent representative and their
resistivity was not only found to be identical between each other
(2.08+/-0.02)x10-7 ?m and (2.05+/-0.02)x10-7 ?m but also worse than the
industrial copper 1.7x10-8 ?m.[8]

Other examples include the 2002 applications for oil drilling licenses
in Russia and UK using "microlepton technologies"[9], or the 1987
application to the Ministry of Defence of the USSR requesting funding to
develop "highly-reliable detection of an enemy strategic weapon (ICBM,
nuclear submarine, aircraft, etc.); the long-range destruction of enemy
strategic weapons without contact; covert jamming-resistant
communications with objects in space, on Earth, underground, and
underwater; mobile equipment on gravitational principles; and
psychophysical and biomedical influence on troops and the population"[1]
The state allocated 500 million rubles (about $700 million at today's
exchange rate) for this fraudulent research.[10]

On the other end of the spectrum, there are purely mathematical
theories, such as Einstein-Cartan theory or gauge theories of
gravitation for the Poincare and the affine groups, that seek to add the
torsion of spacetime to the curvature-based description of gravity,
predicting a multitude of new physical effects. However the predicted
effects are either infinitesimal or directly contradict the experimental
evidence. In fact, spacetime curvature and torsion are simply
alternative ways of describing the gravitational field that are mutually
interchangeable in every way. Any attempt to account for them separately
produced inconsistencies.[11]

References
	
   1. ^ a b Kruglyakov, E.P.. Pseudoscience. How Does It Threaten Science And the Public? Report made by Academician E.P. Kruglyakov at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences Meeting, May 27, 2003
   2. ^ Bagrov, V. (March 1992). "Possible Manifestations of the Torsion Field". Sov. Phys. J.: 208. 
   3. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named akimov_92
   4. ^ Rein, G. (May 1997). "A Bioassay for Negative Gaussian Fields Associated with Geometric Patterns". Proc. of the 4th Int. Symp. on New Energy, Denver: 225. 
   5. ^ ?????? ?.?.; ????? ?.?., ??????? ?.?., ????????? ?.?., ????? ?.?. (1996). "?????????? ???? ????? ? ?????????". ????? ? ????????? 6: 9-17.  (in Russian)
      (English title: )Akimov A.E.; Shipov G.I., Loginov A.V., Lomonosov M.N., Pugach A.F. (1996). "Torsion fields of Earth and Universe". Earth and Universe 6: 9-17. 
   6. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named boyd
   7. ^ Sarfatti, J., Sirag, S.-P. "Star Gate Anholonomic Topology-Changing Post-Einstein Geometrodynamics" (2000)
   8. ^ a b Byalko A. V. "Torsion Myths" (1996) on Skeptik.net (in Russian)
   9. ^ Strange events hit rural England on physicsweb.org
  10. ^ Kruglyakov E.P., "The Demons of Ignorance and Greed" Interview given by Academician E. P. Kruglyakov to the newspaper Literaturnaya Gazeta, February 1, 2006
  11. ^ Arcos, H. I.; Pereira, J. G. (December 2004). "Torsion Gravity: A Reappraisal" (PDF). Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 13 (10): 2193-2240. doi:10.1142/S0218271804006462. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.