How Luminiferous Aether Led to Relativity
Summary
PBS Space Time explores the history of the luminiferous ether, from ancient Greek concepts to the failed Michelson-Morley experiment that disproved its existence. The episode explains how this null result cracked Newtonian mechanics, paving the way for Einstein's theory of relativity and modern quantum field theories. It also addresses listener questions about the universe's infinite size despite finite age and the nature of the cosmic microwave background horizon.
Topics discussed
Sponsorships and intro
The crisis of 19th-century physics
Michelson's confidence and the 1887 experiment
Ancient and medieval concepts of the ether
Descartes, Huygens, and the wave theory of light
Sponsor break
Newton's opposition to the ether
Young's double-slit experiment and Maxwell's equations
Galilean relativity and the ether wind hypothesis
Sponsor break and the need for a fast lab
Using Earth's motion and the Michelson-Morley interferometer
How the interferometer detects interference shifts
The null result and the death of the classical ether
Lorentz transformations and Einstein's special relativity
The modern ether: spacetime and quantum fields
Michelson's deathbed and the legacy of the ether
Q&A: Infinite universe and finite age
Q&A: Size of the universe at the CMB horizon
Vesto Slipher trivia and listener comments
Sponsorships: Verizon, Uber Eats, and banking
Listen ad-free on Castria