Red-Shifts as Loss of Energy in Transit

Well, perhaps the nebulae are all receding in this peculiar manner. But the notion is rather startling. The cautious observer naturally examines other possibilities before accepting the proposition even as a working hypothesis. He recalls the alternative formulation of the law of red-shifts - light loses energy 'in proportion to the distance it travels through space. The law, in this form, sounds quite plausible. Internebular space, we believe, cannot. be entirely empty. There must be a gravitational field through which the light-quanta travel for many millions of years before they reach the observer, and there may be some interaction between the quanta and the surrounding medium. The problem invites speculation, and, indeed, has been carefully examined. But no satisfactory, detailed solution has been found. The known reactions have been examined, one after the other - and they have failed to account for the observations. Light may lose energy during its journey through space, but if so, we do not yet know how the loss can be explained.

The observer seems to face a dilemma. The familiar interpretation of red-shifts leads to rather startling conclusions. These conclusions can be avoided by an assumption which sounds plausible but which finds no place in our present body of knowledge. The situation can be described as follows. Red-shifts are produced either in the nebulae, where the light originates, or in the intervening space through which the light travels. If the source is in the nebulae, then red-shifts are probably velocity-shifts and the nebulae are receding. If the source lies in the intervening space, the explanation of red-shifts is unknown but the nebulae are sensibly stationary.