Cosmic Adventure Episode 2.07 Secrets of MMX
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The MM experiment aimed to detect the aether wind by measuring the speed of light moving in different directions through the presumed aether medium. However, the experiment's underlying assumptions about light and aether were incorrect. It was assumed that light speed and aether speed would add or subtract vectorially, as Maxwell and Michelson believed. It was also assumed that the aether existed and could influence light. When the experiment found no effect on light speed, it highlighted fundamental flaws in these assumptions and helped lead to the theory of relativity.
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Cosmic Adventure Episode 2.07 Secrets of MMX
- 1. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com THE SECRET OF THE MM EXPERIMENT Cosmic Adventure: Episode 2.07
- 2. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com A Doomed Project As we saw it, the MM experiment had been a project doomed to fail from the very beginning.
- 3. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Maxwell – the Initiator When Clerk Maxwell first started the idea of testing the existence of the aether wind, he had the idea in mind that the wind would affect the motion of light travelling in it, just like wind affecting our motion in ordinary life.
- 4. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Addition of Light Speed Maxwell also believed that light velocity and aether velocity will add and subtract just like vectors in classical mechanics. If a man goes against the wind, he will feel the force of the wind more ferocious than when he is backing away from it. Wind Speed = 𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐 − 𝑣𝑣
- 5. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Aether wind as medium – basic mistake All these would happen, of course, when the aether wind is there. But in nature, there were no aether wind. So this was the initial misconception – believing in the aether as the transmission medium for light.
- 6. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Albert Michelson – the Operator Michelson deeply believed in what Maxwell had said and furthered the idea with the river analogy. The flow of the river is the flow of the aether wind. It would affect swimmers differently if they swim in different directions. The swimmers will automatically adjust their courses under the influence of the wind.
- 7. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com 𝑩𝑩 𝑨𝑨 𝑐𝑐 Against & Cross Wind Swimming against the current will reduce speed. Swimming in line with the current will gain in speed. Swimming across will be affected differently. In short everything is just like vectors interacting with each other as in classical mechanics according to Newton’s laws.
- 8. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Wind has no Effect Later scientists knew it very well that the motion (speed) of light is not affected by its sources nor by its medium. So this was the second and most basic mistake committed. Naturally, when these misconceptions were applied to the experiment, it failed to yield any expected results.
- 9. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com TWO MM EXPERIMENTS Comparing
- 10. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Let us split the experiment into two for easier comparison.
- 11. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com This is an outline setup of the original MM Experiment in 1881. We colour it blue to indicate that the system was at its starting stage. Light Source Splitter Mirror B Mirror A Viewer
- 12. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com B. MMX Setup for correctionA. MM Experiment Setup Light Source Splitter Mirror B Mirror A Viewer Light Source Splitter Mirror B Mirror A Viewer
- 13. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com B. MMX Setup after correction Same: Ray emitted from source. A. MM Experiment Ray emitted from source. Source SourceSplitter Splitter
- 14. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction Same: Ray split into 2. In MM Experiment Ray split into 2, like two swimmers. Beam B Splitter Beam A Beam B Beam A Splitter
- 15. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction System moves to right. Beam A moves further. Beam B moves upwards. In MM Experiment System moves to right. Beam A travels further. Beam B. Michelson’s idea comes into play. Here, 𝑡𝑡 stands for time. 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 1 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 + 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 − 𝑣𝑣 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 2 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
- 16. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Beam B’s altered path According to Michelson’s river analogy, Beam B will seek a slanting path instead of going straight up due to the influence of the aether current. What so special about the beam is that is still travelling at speed 𝑐𝑐. 21 𝑐𝑐 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑐𝑐2 𝑡𝑡2 − 𝑣𝑣2 𝑡𝑡2 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 2 𝑡𝑡2 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 2 𝑐𝑐2 − 𝑣𝑣2 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜
- 17. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Beam B returned path This happens also in the return trip. Beam B will seek a slanting path when the system is in its third position. 21 3 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑐𝑐2 𝑡𝑡2 − 𝑣𝑣2 𝑡𝑡2 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 2 𝑡𝑡2 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 2 𝑐𝑐2 − 𝑣𝑣2 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜
- 18. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com 21 3 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 Beam B Total Path So the total trip time is the sum of the two: 2𝑡𝑡 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2
- 19. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction System moves further to right. Beam A returns. Beam B is reflected downwards. In MM Experiment [Michelson] System moves further to right. Beam A forward time = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐+𝑣𝑣 Beam B forward time = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1−𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑣𝑣 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 + 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐
- 20. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction System moves further to right. Beam A returns. Beam B is reflected downwards. In MM Experiment [Michelson] System moves further to right. Beam A returns. Beam B diverts again after reflection. 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 − 𝑣𝑣 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 − 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐
- 21. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction Sub-total time: Beam A time = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 Beam B time = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 In MM Experiment [Michelson] Sub-total time: Beam A time 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1−𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 Beam B time 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1−𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈+𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓+𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑣𝑣 + 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 − 𝑣𝑣 = 2𝑐𝑐𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐2 − 𝑣𝑣2 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤+𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 2𝑡𝑡 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹+𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 + 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 − 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑐𝑐 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐
- 22. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com MMX Setup after correction Same: Both beams recombined to be analysed. No fringes as expected. In MM Experiment [Michelson] Both beams recombined to be analysed. Results should show fringes. But no fringes found.
- 23. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com Comparison 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑣2/𝑐𝑐2 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 = 2𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐 MMX difference in timing MMX after correction
- 24. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com The Misconceived Path – The Excalibur According to the system of corrected paths, there should have been no interference fringe. No matter what was done to improve or modify the system, the results were the same, as Michelson and other scientists had found. That is also why we said the experiment was doomed to fail at the very beginning. But we have finally found where the Excalibur is. Beam A Splitter Beam B
- 25. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com What about these places where light interact with the mirrors. They should be spots of delays as well.
- 26. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com The Hidden Timing There is time delay alright at these spots. But unlike free spaces between the mirrors where photons (light) travels freely. The places where light interacts with material bodies are at the mirrors are only turning spaces. They incur similar time delay at each spot.
- 27. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com t t t t t t Similar Delay Time If you add them together, they end up the same. For path A there are three changing points. Same for path B. So both will arrive at the analyser at the same time. No fringe will be found.
- 28. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com The Survival of the MMX However, I still do not quite get it. All scientists after the MM experiment knew that the aether no longer existed, although many of them still tried hard to salvage it. How come they still keep and practise the historic experiment as if Michelson’s idea was the genuine truth?
- 29. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com The Spawn Ground of Modern Physics The reasons are quite complicated. But in general, the MM experiment was significant not only because it disproved the existence of aether, but also because it turned out to the breeding ground for the birth of a new theory that rocked the very foundation of classical physics.
- 30. © ABCC Australia 2015 new-physics.com THE MAKING OF PANDORA’S BOX ABCC To be continued in: Episode 2.08