Successful Detection of a Preferred Frame Using Eclipses of Jupiter’s Moon Io

Stephan J G Gift

doi:10.4236/jamp.2022.102025

Abstract

In this paper tests by Maxwell and Gift that search for a preferred frame or ether arising from movement through that frame using Jupiter’s moon Io are reviewed and discussed. Unlike the Michelson-Morley second-order experiment which unsuccessfully attempted to detect the orbital motion of the Earth relative to the ether, these tests are both first-order and therefore are unaffected by the second-order effects of length contraction and clock retardation. The test by Maxwell utilizes the delay in the eclipse of Io as the Earth orbits the Sun in an attempt to detect ether drift resulting from the galactic movement of the Sun. This test requires a 6-year duration for its full execution and was never performed because of practical difficulties. The test first presented by Gift can be conducted over a few days and employs the observed variation of the period of Io as the Earth moves toward or away from Jupiter. The result is a positive detection of ether drift arising from the orbital motion of the Earth. The detected ether drift is evidence of a preferred frame which we argue corresponds to the solar system barycentric or sun-centered inertial (SCI) frame.

Highlights

The luminiferous ether, a medium permeating all space and considered to be the carrier of light waves, was believed to exist based on evidence accumulated over many years [1] [2]
In an 1875 entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica in support of the ether and its existence [10], Maxwell wrote “If it were possible to determine the velocity of light by observing the time it takes to travel between one station and another, we might by comparing the observed velocities in opposite directions, determine the velocity of the ether with respect to these terrestrial stations.”
A method which like Maxwell’s experiment utilizes the eclipses of Io but represents a major improvement of that test since it can be conducted in a few days, is one that is based on an important observation by Roemer

Summary

Introduction

The luminiferous ether, a medium permeating all space and considered to be the carrier of light waves, was believed to exist based on evidence accumulated over many years [1] [2]. Lorentz succeeded in explaining why: according to his theory, no such effect should be detectable by any experiment sensitive to first order in (v/c) where v is the speed of the moving object through the ether and c is the speed of light in that medium.”. This statement about Lorentz’s theory is misleading. The second is a first-order test first discussed by Gift [16] which utilizes variations in the period of Jupiter’s satellite Io to detect the orbital movement of the Earth relative to the ether, the movement that Michelson and Morley tried unsuccessfully to detect. Maxwell’s approach requires 6 years and was never conducted while Gift’s approach requires only a few days and gives a confirmed positive result

Detection of the Galactic Motion of the Sun Using Maxwell’s Experiment

Detection of the Orbital Motion of the Earth Using Roemer’s Observation

Conclusions