Experimental detection of superluminal far-field radio waves with transverse plasma antennas

The predictions of Maxwell’s equations depend on the reference frame in which they are solved. If one solves Maxwell's equations in the rest frame of the transmitter, which is the common approach, one obtains Lorentz-Einstein electrodynamics by adding the special theory of relativity. Here, for formal reasons, no information velocities greater than the speed of light in vacuum are possible. If, however, one solves Maxwell's equations rigorously in the rest frame of the receiver, one comes to a field-theoretical generalization of Weber electrodynamics, which differs from Lorentz-Einstein electrodynamics. Although Einstein's postulates are also fulfilled in this Weber-Maxwell electrodynamics, in a specifically designed experimental setup of two mutually stationary and very distant antennas, electromagnetic waves may travel at velocities that exceed the speed of light in vacuum. This effect, previously predicted only theoretically, has now been experimentally investigated and confirmed. This finding indicates that Lorentz-Einstein electrodynamics is incorrect and that Maxwell's equations should instead be interpreted in terms of Weber electrodynamics. As a subsidiary result, these findings can enable remarkable new technologies, such as a highly compact method for radio direction finding (RDF).