Version 6: The Progressive Redistribution of Light and the Multiple Glass Plate Experiment: Empirical Tests of the Photon Fragmentation Model

Abstract

Abstract: This paper presents two complementary empirical tests designed to distinguish the Photon Fragmentation Model from the standard wave interpretation of light. The first test examines the Progressive Redistribution of Light—the characteristic bright‑center‑to‑dark‑edges pattern observed in any simple light beam projected onto a wall. The fragmentation model interprets this not as diffraction or beam spread, but as the spatial signature of Luminiferous Erosion: intact photons form the bright center, while progressively fragmented photons shed their outer layers, scattering outward and creating a smooth intensity gradient. The second test proposes a definitive laboratory experiment using multiple glass plates. The fragmentation model predicts a cumulative, spacing‑dependent attenuation that deviates from the additive Beer‑Lambert law predicted by the wave model. Specifically, the experiment predicts that: (1) multiple plates produce more than additive attenuation; (2) spaced plates produce different results than stacked plates; (3) the beam edges show evidence of fragment scattering; and (4) transmitted light exhibits a slight redshift or spectral broadening. These predictions are testable, accessible, and offer a direct empirical pathway to confirm or falsify the fragmentation framework, potentially revolutionising our understanding of light propagation and cosmological redshift. This Version DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22261158