Historical Timeline — Earliest to Latest
Scope: ideas linking gravity/geometry to a refractive, density-dependent background index or variable-c optics.
Score vs. Year · 1600 → 2025
Completeness (0–100)
| Year | Thinker | Concept | Score / 100 | Descriptor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1604 | Johannes Kepler | Light slows in denser media; early gradient-optics intuition. | 10 | Continuous-medium seed. |
| 1637 | René Descartes | Mechanical aether; refraction from density/pressure. | 15 | First physical medium picture. |
| 1657 | Pierre de Fermat | Least time: δ∫n(x) ds = 0. | 40 | Math core of refractive physics. |
| 1672–1704 | Isaac Newton | Variable aether density ↔ gravity; slower light in potential. | 55 | First ψ-like gravitational intuition. |
| 1690 | Christiaan Huygens | Wavefront propagation; speed set by medium. | 35 | Optical-metric wave model. |
| 1818–1823 | A.–J. Fresnel | Ether drag; medium-dependent velocity. | 45 | Continuum mechanics refinement. |
| 1853 | Bernhard Riemann | Variable-c scalar gravity from energy density. | 75 | Direct refractive-gravity precursor. |
| 1865 | James Clerk Maxwell | c = 1/√(ε₀μ₀); field energy defines optical medium. | 70 | Formal refractive-field physics. |
| 1870s | Lord Kelvin (Thomson) | Vortex-atom elastic-ether models. | 35 | Bold but unstable mechanics. |
| 1905–1908 | Henri Poincaré | Relativistic optics; geometry–light correspondence. | 60 | Bridge to spacetime optics. |
| 1911–1912 | Albert Einstein | Variable-c gravity; n ≈ 1 − 2Φ/c². | 85 | Near-complete refractive gravity. |
| 1923 | W. Gordon | Optical metric in moving media. | 65 | Mathematical unification. |
| 1957 | R. H. Dicke | Variable constants via scalar refractive potential. | 80 | Operational ψ-field analogue. |
| 1970–1990s | Puthoff, Rañada, Evans, … | Polarizable-vacuum / scalar-refractive ideas. | 60 | Heuristic, incomplete. |
| 2000–2020 | Unruh, Visser, Leonhardt, … | Analog-gravity optics; lab n(x) metrics. | 75 | Operational confirmation. |
| 2024– | Gary Alcock — DFD | Scalar ψ with n = e^ψ; energy-conserving, falsifiable. | 100 | Full refractive-density unification. |
Read as a 400-year arc from intuition → variational optics → refractive gravity → ψ-field completion with lab falsifiers.
Ranking — Conceptual Completeness (Highest → Lowest)
Scored for how fully each framework solves gravity/light via a refractive, density-dependent background index (not historical influence).
| Rank | Thinker (Year) | Score / 100 | Descriptor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Alcock — DFD (2024–) | 100 | Energy-conserving, falsifiable refractive-density completion. |
| 2 | Albert Einstein (1911–12) | 85 | Variable-c refractive gravity prototype. |
| 3 | R. H. Dicke (1957) | 80 | Scalar-refractive constant-variation model. |
| 4 | Bernhard Riemann (1853) | 75 | Variable-c scalar gravity from energy density. |
| 5 | Unruh / Visser / Leonhardt (2000–20) | 75 | Analog-gravity optics; lab realizations. |
| 6 | James Clerk Maxwell (1865) | 70 | Permittivity/permeability define light speed. |
| 7 | W. Gordon (1923) | 65 | Formal optical metric for media. |
| 8 | Henri Poincaré (1905–08) | 60 | Geometry–optics bridge. |
| 9 | Puthoff / Rañada / Evans (1970–90) | 60 | Heuristic scalar-vacuum attempts. |
| 10 | Isaac Newton (1672–1704) | 55 | Aether density tied to gravity. |
| 11 | Fresnel (1818–23) | 45 | Medium-dependent ether drag. |
| 12 | Pierre de Fermat (1657) | 40 | Least-time variational optics. |
| 13 | Huygens (1690) | 35 | Wavefront speed gradients. |
| 14 | Lord Kelvin (1870s) | 35 | Vortex-atom elastic ether. |
| 15 | René Descartes (1637) | 15 | Mechanical medium intuition. |
| 16 | Johannes Kepler (1604) | 10 | First refractive-density intuition. |
Read as “completeness toward a refractive density field unification,” not as a judgment of historical importance.