Questions tagged [aether]
Aether (or ether) relates to the material which supposedly fills the entire universe. It is a concept used to understand action at a distance. Aether was described by Huygens as an "omnipresent, perfectly elastic medium having zero density", to support his wave theory of light.
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What is Dirac Aether in context to modern physics [closed]
"The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo." -Robert Laughlin
What does it ...
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How is vacuum polarization calculated? Can the effect of changes in vacuum polarization on permittivity and permeabilty be calculated? [closed]
Value of the vacuum permeability
Value of the vacuum permeability
The polarizing factor and its energy
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Pebble dropped on a stationary pond with a non-perpendicular angle of impact to help conceptualize the Michelson-Morley experiment
I am trying to better understand the logic behind the famed 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment...and want to comprehend what they EXPECTED to see. As I understand it, the motivation behind this ...
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Lorentz ether theory (LET) vs special relativity
According to wiki LET page
“[Mansouri–Sexl] implies that a one-way speed of light experiment could in principle distinguish between LET and SR… In the absence of any way to experimentally distinguish ...
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One-way speed of light and the luminiferous aether
The "luminiferous aether" hypothesis is famously falsified by the Michelson-Morley experiment. It is explained that if there is an aether and we move through it, then there will be an "...
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Is quintessence the same as ether? [closed]
Quintessence is a new physics theory. It is mainstream physics.
However, some argue its exactly the same as luminiferous ether. Why?
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Why is Special Relativity preferred over Lorentz Ether Theory?
Special Relativity and Lorentz Ether Theory make the same predictions, so they cannot be experimentally differentiated. (Are Lorentz aether theory and special relativity fully equivalent?). As such, ...
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Understanding the math of the Michelson-Morley experiment
I'm having some conceptual misunderstandings of the Michelson-Morley experiment. The time for the beam going perpendicular ($t_{across}$) of the aether wind I am getting:
$$(ct)^{2}=d^{2}+(vt)^{2}\\
(...
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Why are the Michelson-Morley experimental results interpreted more broadly than the scope of the tested medium?
My understanding of the experimental design is that they tested for a stationary, luminiferous, light propagating, non-interacting with mass, uniform, ubiquitous medium.
This is but one possible ...
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What exactly is weird about waves propagating without a medium? What does it violate? [closed]
I can not seem to grasp, why exactly does light travelling through space without the need of any medium was baffling for the scientists of 1800's.
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Why didn't Michelson and Morley assume or conclude that aether is homogenous and permeate all of space?
In the Michelson-Morley experiment, why didn't they assume or conclude that ether is homogeneous and permeate all of space instead of coming from an unspecified source or direction dubbed the ether ...
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Speed of light in Michelson-Morley experiment
The (failed) goal of the Michelson-Morley experiment was to detect the motion of the Earth with respect to the hypothetical ether. As far as I understand (e.g. from the exposition in Feynman’s ...
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Was the Michelson & Morely experiment ever valid? [closed]
One of the key predecessors to Einstein's Relativity was another theory having to do with an "Aether" material. This substance was supposed to be the substrate that the universe is built ...
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What would happen if the aether did exist and there was no such thing as relativity? [closed]
I'm curious as to the purpose of relativity and why the universe would function this way as opposed to a universe with an aether. So what would be different if we had an aether?
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All Michelson-Morley experiments have only been done in non-inertial conditions. Does special relativity apply or not?
As far as I know not a single Michelson-Morley experiment has been done in non-inertial conditions. Shouldn't it be general relativity that applies to Michelson-Morley experiments done so far?
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