Interferometer Experiment (1887)
Standard Interpretation
Purpose:
To detect the relative motion of matter through the hypothesized luminiferous aether by measuring changes in the speed of light due to Earth’s motion.
Method:
A beam of light was split into two perpendicular paths, reflected by mirrors, and recombined to create interference fringes. Any change in the speed of light along different axes (due to movement through the aether) would shift the fringes.
Result:
No significant fringe shifts were observed, suggesting no detectable aether wind.
Conventional Conclusion:
The experiment yielded a null result, helping to disprove the aether theory and laying the groundwork for Einstein’s Special Relativity, which postulates that the speed of light is constant in all inertial frames.
Charge Admittance (CA) Reinterpretation
CA Principles Relevant Here:
- Dynamic Charge Impedance – Electromagnetic wave propagation is governed not by an empty vacuum, but by the response (admittance) of a structured, charge-bearing medium.
- Lattice-Governed Propagation – The vacuum is not featureless but consists of a structured “lattice” that determines the impedance characteristics of propagating fields, akin to phonons in a crystal lattice.
CA-Based Reinterpretation:
- Reframing the Null Result: Rather than viewing the null result as disproof of a medium (as Special Relativity does), CA suggests that the lattice medium is inherently Lorentz-invariant in its response to propagating charge waves. The admittance of the medium adjusts dynamically such that phase velocity remains isotropic in all inertial frames.
- Why the Fringes Don’t Shift: The charge-lattice system compensates for the observer’s motion, maintaining phase coherence of propagating electromagnetic waves. Hence, light appears to travel at the same speed in all directions not because of an intrinsic property of space-time, but because the medium’s admittance dynamically equalizes impedance paths in response to movement.
- Interpretive Shift: Instead of removing the medium (as relativity does), CA reintroduces a structured vacuum but assigns it dynamic properties (responsive impedance) that mimic relativistic invariance. Thus, the Michelson-Morley result doesn’t imply a void, but rather a hidden structure with self-equalizing properties.
Implications:
- Validates CA’s prediction that dynamic impedance cancels first-order motion effects on wave propagation.
- Suggests reanalysis of other “null” results under CA might uncover non-obvious correlations or higher-order signatures.
- Opens the door to experiments that might detect variations in admittance under acceleration, thermal fluctuation, or gravitational stress—subtleties invisible under traditional interpretations.