The context is taken from the book: Special Theory of Relativity by V. A.; Atanov, Yuri (Trans.)
Michelson-Morley experiment, an attempt to detect the velocity of the Earth with respect to the hypothetical luminiferous ether, a medium in space proposed to carry light waves. He designed and developed a device named ‘interferometer’ which could split a beam of light into two parts. In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the first American to win the Nobel Prize in a science. Together with his colleague Edward Williams Morley he conducted an experiment that proved the by the time famous ether theory to be wrong and is considered to be one of the pilars of the theory of relativity. Interested readers should feel free to go through the entire slide deck.Course Description (Archive)Full Slideshow (.ppt Archive) Difficulties and Solutions.
Albert Abraham Michelson FFRS HFRSE (December 19, 1852 – May 9, 1931) was an American physicist known for his work on measuring the speed of light and especially for the Michelson–Morley experiment. The Origin of Michelson’s Experiment. To determine the relative movement of the luminiferous ether in relation to the Earth, the American physicist Albert Abraham Michelson intended to calculate the orbital speed of the Earth around the Sun by measuring the speed of light in different directions. Aether was believed to fill empty space. Below are slides that tell the story. The most famous and successful was the one now known as the Michelson-Morley experiment, performed by Albert Michelson (1852-1931) and Edward Morley (1838-1923) in 1887. The experiment didn't play any role in the formulation of STR by Albert Einstein. Albert Abraham Michelson (19 December 1852 – 9 May 1931) was an American physicist known for his work on the measurement of the speed of light and especially for the Michelson-Morley experiment. The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to detect the existence of the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. Ugarov (Author) Art: Was Michelson's experiment "decisive" for the creation οΙ the special theory οΙ relativity? The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 by Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and published in November of the same year. First performed in Germany in 1880–81 by the physicist A.A. Michelson, the test was later refined in 1887 by Michelson
Material from a York University course by Prof. Byron E. Wall provides a good summary of the Michelson-Morley experiment and its result. The scheme of the experiment is as follows: a pulse of light is directed at an angle of 45 degrees at a half-silvered, half transparent mirror, so that half the pulse goes on through the glass, half is reflected.
Michelson and Morley built a Michelson interferometer, which essentially consists of a light source, a half-silvered glass plate, two mirrors, and a telescope.