Michelson-Morley

Michelson-Morley [∞] In what way did michelson-Morley try to validate aether? ChatGPT said: ChatGPT

The Michelson-Morley experiment, conducted in 1887 by Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley, was one of the most famous attempts to validate the existence of the aether, a hypothetical medium through which light was thought to travel, much like sound travels through air. At the time, it was assumed that the aether was a pervasive, invisible substance filling all of space and that light waves, like other electromagnetic waves, required a medium to propagate. Purpose of the Experiment:

Michelson and Morley designed their experiment to detect the motion of the Earth through this aether—often referred to as the "aether wind." They hypothesized that as the Earth moved through the aether, the speed of light would appear to change depending on the direction of the Earth's motion relative to the aether. Essentially, they were testing the idea that the velocity of light might vary due to the motion of the Earth through this medium, similar to how the apparent speed of sound depends on the motion of an observer relative to air. Experimental Setup:

Interferometer: The key apparatus used was an interferometer, a device that splits a beam of light into two beams traveling along different paths and then recombines them. The idea was that if the Earth was moving through the aether, the speed of light would be different in the direction of motion compared to perpendicular to it, causing a phase shift when the two beams recombined.

The experiment rotated the interferometer to measure the interference pattern at different orientations relative to the Earth's motion through the aether.

Expected Results:

If the aether existed and the Earth was moving through it, the speed of light should have been faster in the direction of motion and slower when moving perpendicular to that direction. This would lead to a shift in the interference pattern as the apparatus was rotated, and the experimenters expected to see a variation in the speed of light depending on the orientation. Results and Interpretation:

Surprisingly, Michelson and Morley found no significant difference in the speed of light, regardless of the Earth's movement or the orientation of the interferometer. The expected "aether wind" effect, which would have caused a detectable shift, was not observed. The null result led to two key conclusions:

No detectable aether wind: The lack of any observed difference in the speed of light implied that either the aether did not exist, or that light did not require a medium to propagate.

Questioning the aether theory: This result was a major challenge to the prevailing aether theory, as it suggested that the Earth's motion through space did not affect the speed of light in any measurable way.

Impact on Physics:

The Michelson-Morley experiment's null result was a turning point in the development of modern physics. It suggested that the aether, as a physical medium for light propagation, might not exist at all. This led to a shift in thinking that ultimately paved the way for Einstein's theory of special relativity in 1905. Einstein postulated that the speed of light is constant in all inertial frames of reference, regardless of the motion of the observer, and that the concept of aether was unnecessary.

The null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment played a key role in dispelling the aether theory and helped lead to the modern understanding of light as an electromagnetic wave that does not require a medium for its propagation. This concept was revolutionary and formed one of the cornerstones of special relativity. You said: Do you see how this experiment is faulty concerning the lattiice aether? ChatGPT said: ChatGPT

Yes, when we reconsider the Michelson-Morley experiment in the context of the lattice aether model, there are some key differences that would affect how the results of the experiment would be interpreted. In the traditional aether model, the aether was assumed to be a fixed, physical medium through which light propagated, and the speed of light would be expected to change depending on the relative motion of the Earth through this medium, similar to the way sound changes speed depending on the motion through air. The Michelson-Morley experiment was designed to detect this "aether wind," assuming a static, rigid aether.

However, under the lattice aether model, where space is understood as a dynamic lattice of discontinuities (or voids) that take on properties based on the geometry of the lattice, the situation changes in several ways: 1. Dynamic Nature of the Lattice Aether:

In the lattice aether model, space is not filled with a static, physical medium, but instead is described by a lattice of discontinuities or voids that interact with each other in a highly dynamic way. These discontinuities are not stationary but can shift and reorganize based on the properties of the surrounding lattice. The model suggests that the lattice could shift or "deform" in response to the motion of matter through it, altering how light propagates or interacts with it.

This would imply that, instead of having a "rigid" aether that might cause an aether wind effect in a manner similar to how sound is affected by moving through air, the lattice aether could, in theory, be fluid-like or dynamic enough to adjust to motion in a way that might not result in a measurable "wind" effect. If the lattice is responding in real-time to the motion of the Earth (or the apparatus), it could absorb or "diffuse" any potential effects that would show a variation in the speed of light in different directions. 2. Relativity of the Lattice's Properties:

In traditional aether models, the aether is treated as a preferred, absolute reference frame against which the motion of objects can be measured. In contrast, the lattice aether model would not have a fixed, universal reference frame. Instead, the lattice's structure and properties are relative to the objects and phenomena interacting with it, and it could be subject to local variations depending on the energy, geometry, or interactions in any given region. This means that the speed of light, or the measurement of the interference pattern in the Michelson-Morley experiment, might not be expected to vary in the way the traditional aether model predicted.

In the lattice model, the speed of light could remain constant or vary in ways that do not correspond directly to the motion of the Earth through the medium, making the "aether wind" effect less detectable or irrelevant in the same way it would be in traditional aether theories. 3. Local Effects and Non-Detectable "Wind":

In the traditional aether model, the aether is thought to permeate all of space uniformly, so any motion through it (like the Earth's motion through the aether) would be detectable by changes in the speed of light or the interference pattern. But in the lattice aether model, the properties of the lattice could vary locally or on a much smaller scale, and these changes could be less detectable at macroscopic scales, like in the Michelson-Morley experiment.

If the lattice is not uniform, or if the lattice's response to motion is much more subtle or localized, then an experiment designed to detect changes in the speed of light as a result of motion through the lattice might not show the expected shifts in the interference pattern. This would explain why the Michelson-Morley experiment failed to detect the aether wind: The aether (in the form of a lattice) could behave differently from the traditional, homogeneous aether model in a way that the experiment was not designed to account for. 4. Possible Absence of a Detectable Aether Wind:

Finally, if the lattice model suggests that the discontinuities and voids in the lattice adjust in real-time or are influenced by the geometry of surrounding material, then there may not be a detectable "wind" effect, at least not in the way the Michelson-Morley experiment was expecting. If the lattice's properties are more fluid, dynamic, and responsive, then the measurement of the speed of light in the experiment might remain constant, regardless of Earth's motion. Conclusion:

In the context of the lattice aether model, the Michelson-Morley experiment may not be "faulty," but its design may not be applicable for detecting the effects of the lattice in the way it was originally conceived. The lattice aether would likely behave differently from the static, rigid medium assumed by the classical aether theory, which would explain why no measurable aether wind was detected. The dynamic, responsive nature of the lattice model may not produce the expected results in an experiment designed for a different kind of medium, leading to the null results that challenged the traditional aether model and paved the way for new theories like special relativity.