Michelson-Morely Experiment - Questions

Michelson-Morely Experiment
































The Michelson-Morely Experiment tested the predictions of

(A) Einstein's theory of relativity.
(B) Newton's theory of mechanics.
(C) Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism.
(D) the Aether theory of light propagation.


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The Michelson & Morely Experiment tested the predictions of

(A) Einstein's theory of relativity. --- No.

It paved the way by testing
the previously established theory.



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The Michelson & Morely Experiment tested the predictions of

(B) Newton's theory of mechanics. --- No.

Not directly.



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The Michelson & Morely Experiment tested the predictions of

(C) Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism.

No. --- It was Maxwell's competition
that was being tested.


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The Michelson & Morely Experiment tested the predictions of

(D) the Aether theory of light propagation.

Yes. --- The aether theory predicted
dragging of light by the aether wind.


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Lorentz sought to explain the result of the Michelson-Morely experiment by asserting that the aether-wind causes changes in the

(A) time intervals. ------ (B) lengths.

(C) properties of light. - (D) physical laws.


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Lorentz sought to explain the result of the Michelson-Morely experiment by asserting that the aether-wind causes changes in the

(A) time intervals. --- No.

Einstein did that.


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Lorentz sought to explain the result of the Michelson-Morely experiment by asserting that the aether-wind causes changes in the

(B) lengths. --- Yes.

The "Lorentz contraction."


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Lorentz sought to explain the result of the Michelson-Morely experiment by asserting that the aether-wind causes changes in the

(C) properties of light. --- No.

He still assumed light
is a wave moving at speed c.

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Lorentz sought to explain the result of the Michelson-Morely experiment by asserting that the aether-wind causes changes in the

(D) physical laws. --- No.
The idea was to rescue relativity,
not throw it away. The underlying physical
laws had to stay the same.

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The Michelson Morely experiment ruled out all viable alternatives to, (but did not directly test) the statement that

(A) lengths contract in the direction of the aether wind.
(B) the two-way speed of light is unaffected by the aether wind.
(C) the speed of light is the same in all inertial frames.
(D) the earth drags the aether with it.

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The Michelson Morely experiment ruled out all viable alternatives to, (but did not directly test) the statement that

(A) lengths contract in the direction of the aether wind.

No. The Lorentz contraction was not a complete theory.



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The Michelson Morely experiment ruled out all viable alternatives to, (but did not directly test) the statement that

(B) the two-way speed of light is unaffected by the aether wind.

No. That is what the experiment demonstrated directly.

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The Michelson Morely experiment ruled out all viable alternatives to, (but did not directly test) the statement that

(C) the speed of light is the same in all inertial frames.

Yes. That was the simplest interpretation
but was not directly proven.

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The Michelson Morely experiment ruled out all viable alternatives to, (but did not directly test) the statement that

(D) the earth drags the aether with it.

No. That was not regarded as a viable explanation.



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