Space -time fabric?They dont admit its the Aether do they?
2006-09-11 02:19:20 · 4 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Aether was "invented" to give phenomenon such as magnetic waves, light waves and gravity a "medium" to travel in. It was the conventional thinking that a "wave" could not exist if it didn't have something to propagate it - much like sound cannot exist in a vacuum.
It has been pretty much discarded by modern physicists because it is well known that all of these events - with the exception of sound - can take place in a vacuum where no "medium" exists. Sound is unique in as much as it is the actual compression and expansion of the air which characterizes it.
2006-09-11 03:24:58 · answer #1 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Michelson-Morley experiment looked for the aether by checking the earth's velocity thru it. Turned out the velocity was curiously zero, which is a pretty big coincidence considering the orbit around the sun, which orbits the galaxy, etc.
The other possibility was there was no aether to measure a velocity thru. Always suspected AE was more influenced by this experiment than he claimed, which was that he developed special relativity with no real concern for this experiment.
2006-09-11 21:09:41 · answer #2 · answered by SAN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Aether theory was abandoned years ago
In the late 19th century luminiferous aether ("light-bearing aether") was the term used to describe a medium for the propagation of light. Later theories including special relativity were formulated without the ether concept, and today the aether is considered to be an obsolete scientific theory.
2006-09-11 09:21:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Scientists do not know for certain what the substance of the universe is...I doubt they ever will know.
2006-09-11 10:40:24 · answer #4 · answered by bruinfan 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋