Does the Michelson-Morley Experiment (MMX) disprove aether theories?
• The answer is no. What the famous Michelson-Morley Experiment showed us is that the assumption that one could use the aether frame as a preferred frame of reference in which to measure such things as motion, is invalid. This told us more about the physical qualities of matter and electromagnetic energy, than about proof of the presence, of lack thereof, of an aether. It clearly demonstrated our conceived notions about matter (at that time) and its interactions with the aether were incorrect. There have been several distinct experiments designed specifically to define the interaction of matter/EM energy with the underlying medium. Some of the more famous are: • 1: Michelson-Morely A light beam is split into two perpendicular component paths, A and B which are of equal length. Path A is in the direction of earth’s motion and path B is at right angles to A. It was expected that, due to earth’s motion, the time to travel path A would be less than the time to travel path B, and therefore,
