Is Michelson-Morley Experiment really an unproof of light being a wave?

Question

That is the reason why they could not explain the Aether as a medium. So if its not a wave, then it behaves differently in a medium.Why did they not think of that today?There is however some scientist that showed that its not a wave.

The experiment had to do with light interferece. One does not need a wavew to cause interference. A particle does the same in a 2 slit experiment. it all depends how you interpret it.The failure of MME indicates light is not a wave.

Answer 1

The term "Aether" in the context of the Michelson-Morley experiment actually means "preferred reference frame of the universe" - it was thought that light if the earth were traveling with some speed (call it v) with respect to the preferred reference frame, then the light would actually travel through the preferred reference frame with a speed c + v.

Michelson-Morley demonstrated that there is no preferred reference frame - no "aether" so to speak.

"Aether" in that context is a fixed "background" of the universe against which the earth, sun, stars, etc. were all thought to be moving. Whether or not "aether" consisted of something was not important to the Michelson-Morley experiment. Certainly for our small minds it is easier to think of a preferred reference frame as a substance or medium that the earth, sun, stars, etc. were moving through, but it was not necessary for the purposes of the experiment.

Answer 2

Michelson and Morley the duality of light was debated. Ironically Sir Isaac Newton argued that light was corpuscular while explained the “refraction by incorrectly assuming that light accelerated upon entering a denser medium because the gravitational pull was greater”(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light particle Theory). Since then the wave-particle duality of light to exist as an electromagnetic wave and beam of photons was proven many times.

So Michelson- Morley experiment is still valid.

Answer 3

No. It was actually proof that there isn't an aether, and that the speed of light is a constant, which is one of the postulates that Einstein made when developing special relativity.

Also, it isn't a matter of scientists showing that light isn't a wave. It is a matter of light behaving sometimes like a wave, and sometimes like a particle. Thats the wave/particle duality. So, it doesn't mean that light isn't a wave at all. It still behaves like a wave, except when it is behaving like a particle ;0)

Answer 4

Light is both a wave and a particle.

it is very easy to prove that light is a wave....it is also very easy to prove light is a particle...and both are correct. It does not take some fancy scientist to prove it either way, these phenomenon are observable on one's own.

If you shine a coherent beam of light through a narrow slit (or two slits, what-have you), you will see an interference patter appear.
In this case, light is a wave.

If you shine light through a large enough slit, it looses its interference pattern (except around the very corner) and is a wave again.
In spectroscopy (when an excited electron releases a photon of light and returns to a lower energy level), a very specific packet/particle of light is emitted.

http://online.cctt.org/physicslab/content/PhyAPB/lessonnotes/dualnature/MichelsonMorley.asp

Answer 5

Michelson_ Morley Experiment proves that the speed of light is measured the same when we move toward the beam of light and also when we recede from the beam of light. The accuracy of measurement of speed is so high that no one can deny the experimental findings. It was repeated many times and the same result is obtained.

Any theory explaining of the behavior of light in vacuum must therefore confirm this experimental fact.

The experiment does not prove or disprove the existence of ether, the wave nature of light or the corpuscular nature of light.

Einstein’s theory fits well with later discoveries about mass and energy as well as the constancy of light.

Answer 6

depends on the way you see it
personally i follow the theory light is a wave of particles called photons