The Michelson-Morley experiment tried to detect the Earth's motion through a hypothesized medium called the luminiferous ether by comparing the speed of light in different directions. Its null result helped clear the way for Einstein's theory of special relativity.
Facts
MethodSourced to the subject's own accountA Michelson interferometer split light into two perpendicular beams traveling along 11-metre arms, reflected them back to recombine, and looked for a shift in the resulting interference fringes as the whole apparatus (floated on mercury for smooth rotation) was turned. 2 Key FindingSourced to the subject's own accountThe measured fringe shift, less than 0.02 fringes, was far below the roughly 0.4 fringes expected if the Earth moved through a stationary luminiferous aether, providing early strong evidence against the aether hypothesis. 2 LocationSourced to the subject's own accountCleveland, Ohio (Case Western Reserve University, formerly Case School of Applied Science) 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
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