Substance of the aether = Space-time fabric?
Einstein's papers on the Aether?
2006-08-04 00:36:18 · 3 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
No, the aether was supposed to be the medium which "waved" when light energy passed, the way water oscillates when water waves pass--a substance composed of particles whose interactions determined the wave speed. General relativity posits no such thing. In GR, the speed of light at any point is always "c," because of special relativity and the local flatness of space. There is no mechanism in standard GR which involves space "waving" in the propagation of light waves. This is an old and famous problem: what, exactly, is physically "waving" with light? We describe spatially and temporally varying "electromagnetic fields." Some think that what is really waving is some other dimension.
GR predicts--and people have indirectly observed--"gravity waves" which travel at the speed of light--and these are more in tune with the intuitive picture of space "rippling". But these things (which do exist) have very different polarization properties from light.
2006-08-04 02:13:36 · answer #1 · answered by Benjamin N 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ether was assumed to be a static, all prevailing substance through which EM waves propagated. The reference frame of this was supposed to be the "absolute" reference frame. However, there is no such reference frame - light always travels at the same speed relative to your reference frame. Also, the particle nature of light does not demand it to have a substance to propagate through.
Space-time is not "absolute" - it can bend and stretch - and therefore is different from the ether scientists used to imagine.
2006-08-04 07:45:11 · answer #2 · answered by kangaruth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
time to read stephen hawkings
2006-08-04 07:43:15 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋