Abstract

<p class="1Body">The null result of Michelson-Morley experiment (MMX) laid the foundation of Relativity and rejected the Newtonian notions of absolute space and time. Logically the null result of any experiment cannot be used to reject the hypothesis under test because the null result could also be caused by invalidity of any of the associated assumptions. The basic design of MMX involves an implicit assumption that changes in the photon flight time in axial and transverse beams, induced by the absolute motion of the setup, can be directly correlated with the corresponding changes in the phase of two beams at the exit end of the beam splitter. We show in this paper that this assumed correlation is fundamentally wrong. It is true that the flight time of a photon between two fixed points on the experimental setup does change with absolute motion of the setup and this has been correctly modeled in the MMX design. The instantaneous phase difference in the light beam, between same two points, does not change with absolute motion of the setup. In the MMX design, phase difference between two fixed points on the setup has been calculated on the basis of time interval alone, without taking into account the shift in corresponding positions on the wave due to the absolute motion of the setup. All modern MMX type experiments with electromagnetic resonators are based on erroneous assumption that the resonant frequency ν is proportional to the relative light speed (c±v) rather than the absolute light speed c.</p>

Highlights

  • It is true that the flight time of a photon between two fixed points on the experimental setup does change with absolute motion of the setup and this has been correctly modeled in the Michelson-Morley experiment (MMX) design

  • In the MMX design, phase difference between two fixed points on the setup has been calculated on the basis of time interval alone, without taking into account the shift in corresponding positions on the wave due to the absolute motion of the setup

  • Newton defined the true motion of a body to be its motion through absolute space, with respect to an ether fixed reference frame and termed it absolute motion

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Summary

Introduction

The first American Nobel prize winner in 1907, was the pioneer of interferometry He had been President of the American Physical Society, National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society of London. His most widely known contribution to science is the Michelson-Morley experiment (MMX) of 1887. It was argued that if earth is moving through absolute space we should be able to detect this absolute motion. The famous experiment by Michelson and Morley (1887) attempted to detect this motion of earth. The null results of MMX were interpreted to rule out the existence of absolute space and ether

Notion of Ether
Wave Propagation and Interference
A D Detector
Mirror
Implication of the Null Result in Michelson-Morley Experiment
Fundamental Error in the design of original MMX type Experiments
Photon Traces don’t Coincide with Light Beams in Moving Setup
Phase Differences Across a Propagating Wave Train
Phase Changes Across a Wave Train due to Time and Position Shifts
Explanation for Null Result in Advanced MMX Type Experiments
Alternative Test for Detection of Absolute Motion through Time Measurements

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