Why PEI Is Not a Newtonian Framework
The PEI explicitly rejects the idea that its gravity framework is a return to Newtonian physics. While PEI restores gravity as a real, active force, its assumptions, scope, and cosmology differ fundamentally from Newton’s model.
This article clarifies those differences, addresses common objections, and situates PEI as a distinct third framework, not a regression.
1. Superficial Similarity: “Gravity as a Force”
It is true that both Newtonian gravity and PEI:
Treat gravity as real and active
Allow gravity to bend trajectories
Reject geometry as the source of gravity
This resemblance is terminological, not foundational.
Calling PEI “Newtonian” on this basis is misleading, because Newtonian gravity ends exactly where PEI begins asking deeper questions.
2. Newtonian Gravity: What It Actually Assumes
Newtonian gravity rests on four core assumptions:
Absolute, infinite, flat space
Instantaneous action at a distance
Gravity acts between masses
No cosmology (no origin, no expansion)
Newton explains how masses attract—but not:
why geometry exists,
how space is structured,
or how the universe began or evolves.
Newton has no Big Bang, no expansion, and no global narrative.
3. PEI’s First Fundamental Break:
Gravity Determines Geometry
Newton:
Geometry is fixed and irrelevant.
PEI:
Geometry exists and is determined by gravity.
PEI introduces two geometric conditions of space:
Rectilinear space (no gravity)
Curvilinear space (with gravity)
Geometry is not assumed—it emerges.
This alone places PEI outside Newtonian philosophy, which never engages geometry at all.
4. Explicitly Addressing the Shell Theorem / Accretion Objection
A common objection is:
If gravity comes from a core, doesn’t the shell theorem imply that outer layers cancel out gravity?
Newtonian Shell Theorem (What It Actually Says)
The shell theorem states:
A perfectly symmetric shell exerts zero net force inside it
Gravity depends only on enclosed mass
This is a mathematical result, not a statement about physical cores, formation, or causality.
Why This Does Not Contradict PEI
PEI does not claim:
Gravity arises from arbitrary shells
Gravity is produced by symmetry alone
Gravity is simply mass summation
Instead, PEI proposes:
Gravity is associated with a centralized, organizing core
Accretion occurs toward this core
Symmetry is the result of gravity, not its cause
In PEI:
The shell theorem describes a stable outcome
It does not describe the origin of gravitational influence
Accretion presupposes gravity; it does not generate it.
Thus:
Shell equilibrium is a consequence of gravity, not its explanation.
Newtonian mathematics describes equilibrium states.
PEI addresses why such equilibria exist at all.
5. PEI’s Second Fundamental Break: Cosmology
Newtonian physics has no cosmology.
It cannot explain:
The origin of motion
Expansion
Large-scale structure
PEI explicitly does.
6. PEI Cosmology: Inertial Expansion (Firecracker Analogy)
PEI proposes that cosmic expansion is best understood as inertial continuation, not metric stretching.
The Firecracker Analogy
A firecracker explodes
Fragments fly outward
No space is stretching between fragments
Motion continues due to inertia
PEI applies this logic to the universe:
The Big Bang was a primordial energetic event
Matter was ejected outward
Expansion continues due to initial momentum
Gravity later organizes matter into cores and structures
This is fundamentally non-Newtonian:
Newton has no Big Bang
No inertial cosmology
No expansion narrative
7. Why PEI Prefers Inertial Expansion Over Metric Stretching
PEI finds inertial expansion conceptually cleaner because:
It preserves causality
It avoids reifying space as an elastic substance
It explains why expansion slows locally (gravity)
It aligns with structure formation intuitively
In PEI:
Space does not stretch itself.
Matter moves because it was set in motion.
Metric expansion is treated as a descriptive model, not a physical engine.
8. Final Clarification (Canonical PEI Statement)
PEI restores gravity as a force, but it is not Newtonian.
It determines geometry, treats space as contextual, and provides a non-metric cosmology rooted in inertial expansion.
PEI in One Line
Newton explains local force.
Einstein explains geometric description.
PEI explains causal origin—from the Big Bang to gravity itself.