Physical vacuum as a dilatant fluid yields exact solutions to Pioneer anomaly and Mercury’s perihelion precession

Abstract

By using the Lorentz factor as a viscosity term in Stokes’ law for objects traveling in a vacuum, Mercury’s perihelion precession and the Pioneer anomaly are directly and exactly solved, demonstrating that physical vacuum is a shear-thickening (dilatant) fluid. The modified Stokes’ equation also correctly indicates that planetary orbits are stable (over trillions of years). This unexpected feature of physical vacuum may help in achieving quantum relativity and implies interesting consequences for various fields of modern physics.