BELPRE – A Belpre physicist who calls his methods “outlaw physics” due to their against-the-grain developments has devoted 35 years of his life to a theory he says is finally complete.

James Beichler, 67, said he has completed Albert Einstein’s search for a unified field theory.

“His theory didn’t take into account points in space, which can’t be measured by regular geometry because of their infinitesimal size,” said Beichler, a retired West Virginia University at Parkersburg professor, on where Albert Einstein went wrong.

This idea, based on Einstein’s quest to attempt to describe all fundamental forces including gravity and electromagnetism in a singular explicable statement, is detailed in length in Beichler’s paper “Finishing Einstein Point by Point: The Unification of Quantum and Relativity” was published in the WISE Journal in December.

Electromagnetism has been explained by a theory known as the standard model and gravitation through something similar; however, neither have been able to fit together in one “holy grail” of an equation.

“Unification has been a driving effort in the field throughout the history of physics,” said Dennis Uhl, associate professor of physics at Marietta College. “In the 19th century, the unification of electricity and magnetism (called electromagnetism) wasn’t understood at first. But now it’s something so often present we take it for granted.”

Beichler’s body of scientific research is what many, including him, call unorthodox. However, he maintains that the 30-plus years of work he has put into developing this is legitimate. If verified, this could most immediately provide a quicker, more advanced way of communicating, not necessarily on earth, but by astronomers exploring distant galaxies or finding a way to continue civilization on another planet.

“Modern-day physicists are trying to put quantum mechanics into this argument and do away with the theory of relativity, but that’s wrong,” said Beichler. “Relativity needs to be part of this equation.”

What makes Beichler’s idea different than those that have failed in the past is the presence of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which merges space and time into a single continuum. Popularized quantum explanations like the Superstring theory have attempted to unify such forces along with electromagnetism and others. The Superstring theory tries to explain these fundamental forces as a whole by modeling them as tiny, vibrational supersymmetric strings.

Uhl says the Superstring theory has its flaws and are yet to be any testable predictions.

“A scientific theory needs to prove how it can be fit into observations of the real world. Does it explain the things we can observe, are there predictions made that experiments can then be done to back that up,” said Uhl.

However, confirmation in February of the existence of gravitational waves, which Einstein used as experimental evidence to back up his unified theory, could possibly bring credibility to Beichler’s efforts.

Gravitational waves, which scientists now say provide credit to the theory that space and time are interwoven and dynamic, give confirmation to a slew of phenomena. That includes black holes which Einstein worked tirelessly on proving with his theory of relativity during the early 1900s.

This discovery, made by physicists Kip Thorne of the California Institute of Technology, Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ronald Drever formerly of Caltech show gravitational waves would compress space in one direction and stretch it in another as they traveled outward, thus forming a unified field.

Although Beichler could argue there are infinite steps after the completion of his modified theory, what’s next is for him to have his work verified. Although the detailing of his unified field theory has made an appearance in underground publications like the WISE Journal and “The Proceedings of the Vigier Conferences” out of London, verification through a peer review process would need to occur as well.

“He would need to publish the theory in peer-reviewed journals, present his findings at professional conferences and then receive credible feedback,” said Uhl.

Uhl added that the quest for unification of different fields (like quantum mechanics and relativity) is an ongoing effort, and that Beichler’s theory is progressive whether or not it will run into a blind alley or become something revolutionary.

“It’s impossible for me to say at the stage where he is, since it hasn’t yet been verified by the field,” said Uhl.

Beichler said he is confident his theory can play into the roles of developing warp speed and teleportation as well as help explain paranormal experiences.

“I feel this is something really important for science, and I want to get it out there, past all the skeptics,” Beichler said. “My goal is to get scientists to listen to me and to help further the field.”