1,792
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − + − Today we have no firm answer on whether the aether exists or not. [[Quantum electrodynamics]] (QED) teaches that when light goes through a [[vacuum]], it is really going through a sea of virtual particles. Cosmologists say that the vacuum is really filled with ''dark energy'', and it is unknown whether that has any relation to the aether concept. The pre-relativity aether theory has been superseded, but the precise nature of the aether is an open question. +
rm confusing statements about the existence being unknown
Light is a wave, and the ''luminiferous aether'' (or ether) is defined to be whatever medium transmits the light waves.
Light is a wave, and the ''luminiferous aether'' (or ether) is defined to be whatever medium transmits the light waves.
The [[Michelson-Morley experiment]] in 1887 failed to detect the aether. [[Henri Poincaré]] conjectured that the aether may be unobservable, and invented special [[relativity]] based on the notion that the aether may be superfluous. [[Albert Einstein]] published conflicting opinions on whether the aether exists.
The [[Michelson-Morley experiment]] in 1887 failed to detect any motion of the aether relative to the Earth. [[Henri Poincaré]] conjectured that the aether may be unobservable, and invented special [[relativity]] based on the notion that the aether may be superfluous. [[Albert Einstein]] published conflicting opinions on whether the aether exists.
[[Quantum electrodynamics]] (QED) teaches that when light goes through a [[vacuum]], it is really going through a sea of virtual particles. Cosmologists say that the vacuum is really filled with ''dark energy'', and it is unknown whether that has any relation to the aether concept. According to these theories, there is no such thing as empty space. The aether describes space when it is as empty as possible.
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Science]]