The Vacuum is a Dielectric Medium According to the Maxwell Theory; Its Basic Field is the Electric Vector Potential Z

Abstract

We discovered that, according to the Maxwell theory, the vacuum should behave like a dielectric medium. A major contribution of Maxwell was his introduction of the electric displacement D into electrodynamics. Maxwell’s theory of light propagation required that the vacuum must behave like a dielectric medium. If the vacuum is an empty space, D must automatically equal to zero. It will then be impossible to derive the wave equation of light. The wave function of a free particle represents a local movement of the vacuum medium. Since the vacuum behaves as a dielectric medium, the physical parameter representing the displacement of the vacuum medium should be the electric displacement D instead of the magnetic flux B. By applying the Helmholtz decomposition theorem, we find that the dynamic variation of D can be characterized by a newly defined electric vector potential called “Z”. We showed that the variation of Z follows a wave equation similar to the wave equation of light.