Michelson-Morley Experiment

By Payman Sheriff

The experiment used a pencil beam of light that was split in two parts. One travelled directly ahead through a series of mirrors to increase the length of the travel back to an interferometer. The second was directed at right angles to the first, through an identical system of mirrors out and then back to the interferometer. Any sufficient difference, in time taken for one part of the beam as against the other one would show up as an interference. It was argued that sufficient time difference should have resulted to produce interference. The value obtained by substituting the speed of light and the earth orbital velocity was within the sensitivity pattern of the interferometer. In the event no difference was detected however the apparatus was oriented with respect to the direction of travel of the earth. The Michelson experiment had given negative results because travel at high speed induced a contraction in length of apparently solid bodies and that the contraction resulting from travel at Earth orbital velocity, though very small indeed, was exactly the amount needed to contract the apparatus used so as to cancel out the predicted result.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1514652447
• ISBN13: 9781514652442
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.5"