An experiment devised to detect absolute motion.
Like I said in the past, the experiment is very simple in principle: To
measure the time a ray of light takes to go from one direction to
another, one-way. That is, without the return time.
The total travel time is usually known as round-trip-time, or rtt, but
we'll be measuring the one-way time only, not the rtt.
Let's discuss it first from a theoretical perspective, and we can talk
later about experimental setups, which are really not so simple.
The idea is to be able to emit a ray of light in different directions,
precisely measuring the departure and arrival times over a fixed
travelling distance.
I predict absolute motion will be detected by comparing differences in
the time deltas, and the motion will be in the direction at which the
time delta is greater.
The proposed explanation is as follows:
1) Light is not "pushed" by the emitting device. It leaves the emitting
device as a perturbation in the medium, and propagates at a fixed
velocity. That velocity is dependant only on the medium, and is c when
the medium is a vacuum.
2) The receiving device is also moving, in the same direction as the
emitting one(they are solidary, fixed on the same experimental setup).
3) If the whole experimental setup is moving(due to earth's rotation and
translation, tipically) the receiving device will be going farther from
the emitted ray in some cases, and towards the emitted ray in some other
cases. Because, as we said before, the emitted ray is independent of the
emitting device's velocity.
That way, absolute motion will be detected in the direction at which the
time delta is greater. The light ray will take longer, travelling at a
fixed velocity, to reach the receiving device, because the travel
distance in that direction will be greater. Again, because the receiving
device will be moving away while the light ray is travelling towards it.
If this is not the case, we must postulate that the movement of the
emitting device affects the velocity of the ray of light. And therefore
c is not constant. Or, we must postulate that the medium is moving
solidary with the experimental setup. And we have detected ether
entrainment.
Take notice that I'm not talking about relativistic effects, because
there are none. The emitting and receiving devices are both solidary.
That is, their relative velocity is zero.
In other messages we can talk about the needed precision, and about the
conditions for feasible experimental setups. But I would first like to
hear your comments regarding the purely theoretical aspects of the
previous exposition.
Regards,
Mauro
