Maxwell’s 1879 Ether Assumptions





Picture 1: Light propagating in any direction on the theoretically stationary Earth


The Picture 1 also illustrates Michelson’s theoretical distance and time interval (T1) for light to propagate in the direction perpendicular to the Earth’s solar orbital motion.



Picture 2: Light propagating in the direction of Earth’s absolute solar orbital motion and away from the stationary ether


The Picture 2 also illustrates the theoretical in-tandem displacement of mirrors A and B with respect to the stationary ether. Because empirically there is no ether, these theoretical displacements from ether cannot occur.

The light source, the beam splitter (BS) and the mirror M are affixed to the surface of the Earth at a finite distance apart, and for purposes of illustration we assume that they move in tandem to the right at 50% of c relative to the stationary ether and the Sun theoretically at rest in the ether. A light ray leaves the terrestrial light source at some point A0 and transmits at 100% of c toward the mirror at some point M0. During such propagation, the mirror theoretically displaces from point M0 to some point M1 due to such absolute solar orbital velocity with respect to the stationary ether. The light ray contacts the mirror at point M1 after traveling (from A0 to M1). The light ray then reflects from the mirror at M1 and begins to propagate back toward the light source. During such propagation, the material light source theoretically displaces from point A0 to some point A1 and then to some point A2.
When the light ray returns to the light source at point A2 the light ray has traveled a total distance/time interval while the light source and the mirrors have theoretically displaced in-tandem 1/2 of the total distance, an increase of 1/4 of the total distance because of the theoretical displacement. These were also Einstein’s computations for a greater distance/time interval of light propagation, which he referred to in Relativity at pp. 58 - 59. On the other hand, if there had been no motion of the Earth in an absolute direction(and thus no absolute displacement), then the light ray would only have traveled a total distance/time interval of 3/4 of the total distance. Strangely enough is what actually happened, because there is no ether and there can be no physical displacement from something that does not exist.

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