Changes

|isbn=978-0-521-23778-9

|isbn=978-0-521-23778-9

|quote=Now the point is that nothing was observed. There was no shifting as you turned instrument round. The conclusion is either that the Earth is always stationary in the ether, or that there is something wrong with the fundamental principles on which the interpretation of the experiment relies.     

|quote=Now the point is that nothing was observed. There was no shifting as you turned instrument round. The conclusion is either that the Earth is always stationary in the ether, or that there is something wrong with the fundamental principles on which the interpretation of the experiment relies.     

}}</ref> This unexpected failure led to the [[Theory of relativity]]. Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929,<ref>{{cite web |title=Relativity:The Postulates of Special Relativity:The Michelson-Morley Experiment|author= The Nobel Foundation|publisher=nobelprize.org|url=http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/relativity/experiment-1.html|accessdate=July 26, 2013|quote=In 1887, Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley tried to measure the speed of the ether. The concept of the ether was made in analogy with other types of media in which different types of waves are able to propagate; sound waves can, for example, propagate in air or other materials. The result of the Michelson-Morley experiment was that the speed of the Earth through the ether (or the speed of the ether wind) was zero. Therefore, this experiment also showed that there is no need for any ether at all, and it appeared that the speed of light in vacuum was independent of the speed of the observer! Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929, but always with the same results and conclusions. Michelson won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907.}}</ref> but always with the same results and conclusions:<ref name="Whitehead"/>

}}</ref> This unexpected failure led to the [[Theory of relativity]]. Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929,<ref>{{cite web |title=Relativity:The Postulates of Special Relativity:The Michelson-Morley Experiment|author= The Nobel Foundation|publisher=nobelprize.org|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/relativity/experiment-1.html|accessdate=July 26, 2013|quote=In 1887, Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley tried to measure the speed of the ether. The concept of the ether was made in analogy with other types of media in which different types of waves are able to propagate; sound waves can, for example, propagate in air or other materials. The result of the Michelson-Morley experiment was that the speed of the Earth through the ether (or the speed of the ether wind) was zero. Therefore, this experiment also showed that there is no need for any ether at all, and it appeared that the speed of light in vacuum was independent of the speed of the observer! Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929, but always with the same results and conclusions. Michelson won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907.}}</ref> but always with the same results and conclusions:<ref name="Whitehead"/>

*either the Earth is always stationary in the ether,  

*either the Earth is always stationary in the ether,  

*or there is something wrong with the fundamental principles on which the interpretation of the experiment relies.

*or there is something wrong with the fundamental principles on which the interpretation of the experiment relies.

The experiment was as important to physics as was [[Semmelweis]] and [[Pasteur]]'s research into the [[germ theory of disease]]. Michelson got the Nobel Prize in 1907 for related optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations such us these experiments carried out with their aid.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907:

The experiment was as important to physics as was [[Semmelweis]] and [[Pasteur]]'s research into the [[germ theory of disease]]. Michelson got the Nobel Prize in 1907 for related optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations such us these experiments carried out with their aid.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907:

Albert A. Michelson|author= The Nobel Foundation|publisher=nobelprize.org|url=http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1907/|accessdate=July 26, 2013|quote=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907 was awarded to Albert A. Michelson "for his optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations carried out with their aid".}}</ref>  

Albert A. Michelson|author= The Nobel Foundation|publisher=nobelprize.org|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1907/|accessdate=July 26, 2013|quote=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907 was awarded to Albert A. Michelson "for his optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations carried out with their aid".}}</ref>  

== Historical Background ==

== Historical Background ==

The experiment was performed in the days when technology had just become sufficiently advanced to accurately measure the speed of light.  

The experiment was performed in the days when technology had just become sufficiently advanced to accurately measure the speed of light.  

== Link to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity ==

== Link to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity ==

Some authors state that the celebrated Michelson-Morley experiment was the starting point of the Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity<ref name="Essen">{{cite book |author=L.Essen |title=The Special Theory of Relativity: A Critical Analysis |publisher= Oxford Science Research Papers, Clarendon Press|year=1971 |pages=1–2 |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=hq3yUZP3K4O6O_3NgMAI&hl=sk&id=LJjvAAAAMAAJ&dq=Essen+The+Special+Theory+of+Relativity+A+Critical+Analysis&q=starting+point#search_anchor |accessdate=July 26, 2103}}</ref> while others are taking effort to deny any link and try to assure that his 1905 paper was not written with the Michelson-Morley experiment in mind but with entirely different motives.<ref>{{cite book |title= Physics Before and After Einstein|author=Klaus Hentschel et al.|editor= M.Mamone Capria|publisher=IOS Press |year= 2005 |chapter=7: Testing Relativity |pages=164 |isbn= 9781586034627|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=SdLLsj-0rqIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Physics+Before+and+After+Einstein&hl=sk&sa=X&ei=rbPyUf-rO86_PJSWgJAE&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Physics%20Before%20and%20After%20Einstein&f=false}}</ref> Einstein was criticized for the omission of any reference to the work of [[Hendrik Lorentz|H.A. Lorentz]] and H. [[Poincare]] in his 1905 paper to such degree that Whittaker in his detailed study attributes the presented theory entirely to them.<ref name="Essen"/>

Some authors state that the celebrated Michelson-Morley experiment was the starting point of the Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity<ref name="Essen">{{cite book |author=L.Essen |title=The Special Theory of Relativity: A Critical Analysis |publisher= Oxford Science Research Papers, Clarendon Press|year=1971 |pages=1–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=hq3yUZP3K4O6O_3NgMAI&hl=sk&id=LJjvAAAAMAAJ&dq=Essen+The+Special+Theory+of+Relativity+A+Critical+Analysis&q=starting+point#search_anchor |accessdate=July 26, 2103}}</ref> while others are taking effort to deny any link and try to assure that his 1905 paper was not written with the Michelson-Morley experiment in mind but with entirely different motives.<ref>{{cite book |title= Physics Before and After Einstein|author=Klaus Hentschel et al.|editor= M.Mamone Capria|publisher=IOS Press |year= 2005 |chapter=7: Testing Relativity |pages=164 |isbn= 9781586034627|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SdLLsj-0rqIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Physics+Before+and+After+Einstein&hl=sk&sa=X&ei=rbPyUf-rO86_PJSWgJAE&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Physics%20Before%20and%20After%20Einstein&f=false}}</ref> Einstein was criticized for the omission of any reference to the work of [[Hendrik Lorentz|H.A. Lorentz]] and H. [[Poincare]] in his 1905 paper to such degree that Whittaker in his detailed study attributes the presented theory entirely to them.<ref name="Essen"/>

==References==

==References==

==External links==

==External links==

*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/Albert_Michelson_Part_II.shtml A Deeper Understanding of the Mathematics of the Michelson-Morley Experiment]

*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/Albert_Michelson_Part_II.shtml A Deeper Understanding of the Mathematics of the Michelson-Morley Experiment]

*[http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1907/michelson-bio.html Biography of Albert A. Michelson at Nobelprize.org]

*[https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1907/michelson-bio.html Biography of Albert A. Michelson at Nobelprize.org]

[[Category:Relativity]]

[[Category:Relativity]]

[[Category:Physics Experiments]]

[[Category:Physics Experiments]]